Eight days
by youcancallmealex
Summary: Quinn & Rachel found themselves lost in a Gay Town, penniless and away from the Glee club. To survive, Q & R have to pretend to be a couple. With help only arriving 8 days later, can they survive with just each other? PS: alot of singing! Faberry
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: With a twist of fate, Quinn & Rachel found themselves lost in a Gay Town, penniless and away from the Glee club. To survive, Quinn and Rachel have to pretend to be a couple. With help only arriving 8 days later, can they survive with just each other? PS: Alot of singing **

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

**Day 1:**

Quinn growled in annoyance and shifted herself to a more comfortable position. She increased the volume of her MP3 but found it too distracting to fall asleep.

Rachel's singing was suffocating the bus. _God _that Rachel Berry and her annoying, _gorgeous, beautiful_ voice.

Of course she would never tell her the last two bit. Not like she needed more assurance to boost her already-huge ego.

She swung her head to Sam's shoulders and he shifted slightly to accommodate her. Quinn could almost see the smile on his face. There wasn't many times when Quinn would initiate contact with her boyfriend. Well, it's not like she did not like it, but she's just not comfortable with body contacts. Sam held her hand into his and she smiled.

She liked Sam, she really did. Maybe not in a lover kind of way but definitely as a friend. He was so much more sensitive than Finn or Puck and the way he touched was so much gentler than the two. Sam touched…well, he touched almost like a girl. And his lips were so soft that Quinn _almost_ didn't mind kissing him…if only he stopped smelling like a guy. It's not to say he did not smell good, he just smelt…well, like a guy which Quinn found it slightly _less_ pleasant to her preference. No, she mean she did not…_Wait, God_, why was she even explaining herself?

"Wakie Sleepyhead. We're at our pitstop now."Sam whispered and Quinn sighed. She barely even sleep, thanks to Rachel Berry. She ran her hand through her short choppy hair and yawned. Rachel was still singing. She groaned. Will she ever stop singing?

She needed to get out of the bus…get away from Rachel's voice.

"I'm going to the washroom."

Sam held onto her hands before she could slide passed him, a knowing look on his face. She sighed under her breath and gave him two small pecks on his lips, "Happy Sammy boy?"She whispered and Sam grinned. "I'll just talk to Mike and Finn about football stuff."He replied and jumped two rows to the front before slapping his pal's shoulders, hard. He let out a goodhearted laugh at their faces.

The Glee kids were on their way to New York from Ohio, thanks to Kurt's dad and his friends' donations to save the Arts, against Sue Sylvester. Mr Schue wanted them to be inspired after this trip. Inspired to get out of Ohio and aimed to be in one of the top state in US which embraced and appreciated Arts. Most importantly, he wanted this trip to be a bonding session among them, in view of the upcoming Regionals. Unity separates which team make it or break it, he said. Quinn smirked as that comment. She found it ironic to put unity and separate in a single sentence. It pretty much summed up what Glee club was right now.

Mostly separated but united when needed.

And as part of the assignment for this trip, they were supposed to prepare a song to perform for Regionals, as a team.

Quinn dreaded this part of the trip. She could see the Glee kids fighting over the songs to perform and who gets the solos. God, she's so over this shit about singing and solos. She used to love singing… she really did. She found it as a way to express her feelings when words couldn't do it for her. And that's the uncomfortable part. She really detested expressing her feelings to others…especially when all she wanted to do was to deny them.

Quinn Fabray was the ice queen, right?

Maybe that's why she was always against Rachel. Rachel was always all about feelings and wore them like a billboard on her face. Part of her admired her courage and ability to do that. But a huge part of her detested that. Emotionally, Rachel was just the opposite of Quinn in all spectrums.

Quinn splashed the water on her face to freshen herself. It's gonna be another 4 hours of torturing, with Rachel Berry's endless singing. She was, in fact, so excited about this trip that she had the whole itinerary up for the club weeks before it. Why was she not surprised, Quinn smirked.

She dragged her feet out of the toilet and her mind and body protested returning to the bus. Her body absolutely could not tolerate another 4 hours of sitting without moving! And her ears were protesting! Glancing to the bus, she shrugged. Maybe she could have a quick stroll along this street before heading back? Without another glance, she picked off in the opposite direction.

Everything about this town was fascinating to her. Well, it's not that she had not travelled out of Ohio. Her dysfunctional family made it a point that they travelled around and beyond US, even against their will. But,she had yet to set her foot onto this part of the country. The air smelt fresh and Quinn could almost taste the dew in the air. The atmosphere was friendly and the mood was light. She smiled unconsciously.

Maybe she just needed to get out of Ohio, after all that had happened.

As she explored the area, she was mildly surprised when she realized that people around her were mostly…well, gay. Gay couple with their kids on her right. Another gay couple with their family on her left. She swore she had seen more gay couples in this small area then she ever did in her whole life in Ohio. She shrugged. Well, she's fine with them as long as they leave her alone.

She continued on her quest to explore but paused on her track when something caught her eyes. She felt all the air in her lungs sucked out and her head felt dizzy.

They looked so similar.

Her chest tightened and her hand absentmindedly reached out to her neck. She bit her lips and she found herself drawn closer to the display, both hands on the glass panel. Her fingers twitched, as though she was touching it.

They really looked so similar.

Her mouth shivered slightly as memories flood through her defense against her will. She felt the streets shrinking and was rapidly consuming her. She leaned forward for support, her eyes burning with tears. She held her breath to fight against the merging pain in her chest.

"Quinn!"

She jumped in shock and was snapped out of her state. She spun around and was dumbstruck to find Rachel scowling towards her. But her face softened when she took in Quinn's red-rimmed eyes and quivering lips. Quinn looked away self-consciously. She hated that Rachel always have to see her in her most vulnerable state. Like the time when Finn found out that Quinn's baby wasn't his…the time at the prom…and even now.

"Quinn, are you ok?"She questioned with concern and took a step closer towards Quinn. Quinn eased away from her. "Why are you here, Berry." She asked, suddenly defensive.

"Well…I…er, the bus was about to leave and I realized you're not around."She mumbled as though embarrassed by that gesture. When she tilted her gaze to Quinn, she felt a prick of unexpected pain. Quinn's hazel eyes were guarded… like she was so afraid of getting hurt that she built up this wall to push everybody away. After tearing down the wall a couple of times, she was mildly hurt that Quinn was still guarded against her.

Like she would hurt Quinn at all.

Granted, she did hurt her when she exposed her about the baby to Finn, but she didn't want her to lie for the rest of her life. Or maybe, she just didn't want…

Quinn bolted pass her towards the bus without another word. Rachel sucked in a breath. Quinn and Rachel were in this not enemies, but not yet friends stage. Many times, Rachel had no idea how to act around Quinn. How much concern could she show before she's stepping out of their boundary? Where was the limit? Could she pat her back if she knew she had a bad day?

Rachel sighed.

She turned and was about to leave when she found herself staring at Quinn's source of pain. They looked… Rachel's eyes widened as she slowly pieced the puzzle together.

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

Quinn paused at her track. Okay, she was pretty sure the bus was here just 10 minutes ago. She darted to her watch and a small gap escaped her mouth. Holy crap, her little detour lasted almost 20 minutes.

"Where's the bus?" She heard Rachel's voice behind her. She marched forward and looked at the empty spot, eyes widened with astonishment. Her hand reached out as though trying to ensure that the bus did not just turn transparent. Even with her back facing her, Quinn could see the horror on her face. It would be funny if she wasn't stuck in this situation as well. Rachel stood in the middle of the empty spot, jaw dropped. She could not believe that an object that big could just vanish.

She turned around, fear and panic scribbled all over her face.

"OMG Quinn." She swallowed her saliva with the unspoken words hanging in the air.

"Took you long enough to figure."Quinn murmured under her breath. "Did you happen to tell your beloved boyfriend that you're off the bus?"She questioned and Rachel nodded.

"Guess our boyfriends are not listening again. Boys." She rolled her eyes. "OMG QUINN." Rachel exclaimed as she finally found back her voice. She panicked as reality burrowed deeper into her. "OMG QUINN!" She exclaimed this time slightly louder. "WE. ARE. LOST."

Passer-by were starting to throw them curious gazes and Quinn sighed with annoyance and bolted towards Rachel.

"Do you mind keeping it to yourself?"Quinn whispered harshly into Rachel's ears. And when Rachel tilted up to meet her gaze, Quinn found herself looking into a pair of scared chocolate-brown eyes. It was then she realized, Rachel had never been in a situation that was out of her plan. High school, boyfriends, Glee...she always had them planned out. It was like she was kept in her little bubble all her life and suddenly she was exposed to the harsh reality of the world. Quinn felt the urge to protect Rachel heightened.

And then she was wearing this look on her face, like she was pinning on her to make things right. Quinn immediately felt her shoulders weighted. Nobody trusted her enough to give her _that look_. She was never a person somebody would want to rely on. And to be entrusted with _such look_ from Rachel was overwhelming her.

The fear and naked trust in Rachel's eyes was too much to bear. She looked away.

"Do you have money with you?"Quinn asked, the sharp edge in her voice was replaced with an unnoticeable tenderness. Rachel dug through her jacket and pull out a $20. "That's all I have." She swallowed her saliva, feeling shamed.

Quinn cursed under her breath. Her money was in her bag that was in the bus. So here they are, stuck in a foreign land without any cash.

Perfect. _Fucking perfect._

She eased away from Rachel, her mind frantically formulating a plan to this _fucked up_ situation. She needed to make money to last them at least for today.

"Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter" Quinn almost jumped out of her skin. She twirled around and was very very surprise, no scratch that. She was beyond surprise. She was _flabbergasted_ when she saw Rachel started singing.

Her brows perked up in amusement. _WTF? _

She knew Rachel sings when she's sad or happy or excited._ But _she had no idea Rachel sings even when she was panicking.

Now people were REALLY starting to stare.

_Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter _

_Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade_

Rachel started pacing around the empty spot like it was her stage. Her hands stretched out and she sang with vocal so strong that Quinn was taken aback that this was the same girl who seemed to have her voice robbed away just minutes ago.

_And if I'm fanned out, your turn at bat, sir _

_At least I didn't fake it, hat, sir _

_I guess I didn't make it_

Crowds were slowly gathering around them, mesmerized by Rachel's performance. Who wouldn't? Rachel performed like a star.

_I'm gonna live and live NOW! _

_Get what I want, I know how! _

_One roll for the whole shebang! _

_One throw that bell will go clang, _

_Eye on the target and wham, _

_One shot, one gun shot and bam! _

_Hey, Mr. Arnstein, here I am ..._

The crowd was growing and Quinn felt herself smiling at Rachel's perfect rendition of the song. It's not like this was the first time she had seen her perform...but that didn't mean she could not be blown away every time right? Who wouldn't be?

The way she wore that look of sheer determination. The way she swung her arms up as though to announce her arrival. The way she sang with perfect pitch and emotion.

_Nobody, no, nobody, is gonna rain on my parade! _

Rachel finished the song with the last perfect note and faded off. She panted, slightly out of breath. Loud applauses and catcalls emerged from the crowd and Quinn wiped off the proud grin on her face before anybody noticed it. Rachel grinned shyly and bowed to accept her applauses gracefully.

A tall middle age man emerged from the crowd, still clapping. A huge grin of admiration hung on his face.

"Wow you girls...are you girls singers?"

Rachel and Quinn shared a glance before turning back to the man.

"Well...we are from the Glee club."Quinn started, taking a step closer to Rachel. This mysterious man infront of her magnified her instinct to protect. "Well, I'm absolutely positive that I'll be a future Broadway Star."Rachel injected with a small grin.

Quinn rolled her eyes. _Welcome back Rachel Berry. _She missed the speechless Rachel Berry already.

"I have no doubt. I am impressed."He praised and his hand shifted to his pocket. Quinn's eyes trailed to the man's pocket and she felt her heart caught in her throat. Quinn was unaware that her hand was now wrapping around Rachel, pulling her closer. Was he going to hurt them? Her body twitched to put herself between Rachel and that random man.

The man, totally oblivious to the tension, took out his wallet and fished out a $10. He grinned. Quinn instantly felt the adrenaline wearing off and her hand dropped off Rachel like a bomb. A small blush creeping up her gorgeous face. Turned out, Rachel Berry was not the _only_ drama queen here. Consciously, she took a step away from Rachel.

"So where do I pay for the perfect performance?"

Rachel and Quinn looked at each other, a mixture of emotions playing on their faces. From shock to surprise to relief before they finally settled for excitement.

They were not going to starve afterall.

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

**A/N: A random idea. Let me know what if you think I should continue with this. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Day 1:**

Quinn counted the cash with a proud smirk on her face. Although they were chased off by the security after two hours of continuous singing and dancing, they had manage to collect a grand total of $300. More than enough to last them for the day.

"Quinn, we could have win the argument. They did not put up the sign that said we are not allowed to perform!" Rachel pouted, still indignant. "We have the absolute right to perform!" She puffed, annoyed that she could not finish her almost perfect rendition of Silent Night. _Hmpf. _

Quinn rolled her eyes. Rachel had been going on and on about this for the past 30 minutes and it was really getting on her nerves right now. "Berry, if you realized, we are causing major traffic disruption. They have the absolute right to chase us away AND sue us."

Rachel folded her arms and murmured under breath but did not continue.

The Christmas decorations around the streets were getting Rachel slightly excited though. She loved Christmas for so many reasons. An unexpected smile forming on her face. Even though she might have to spend this Christmas week with...

Her eyes darted to Quinn who was still wearing the proud smirk on her face and bit her lips.

...Not exactly somebody she thought she would be spending with, Christmas was all about giving thanks and _forgiving and loving_. Maybe, they could become friends. Besides, it's not like they would be spending the rest of the week with just the two of them. There would be the other Glee kids and...

Finn already had a plan on how they would be spending their Christmas in New York. She could no longer contain the excitement bubbling inside her at that thought. She hummed gleefully to the tune of "Santa Clause is coming to town". Quinn shot her a slight annoyance glare but remained silence. _Yay_ for Rachel Berry.

"Excuse me young ladies." A elderly woman approached them with the kindest smile they had ever seen. She held up a paper and Rachel squeaked in delight. She grabbed Quinn's hand excitedly. "Oh my..." She exclaimed.

"Oh my god!" She squeaked again and was now looking at Quinn like Christmas had just arrived early. Her eyes were sparkled with tears and Quinn wondered why had she not notice how beautiful her eyes were before. She panted, trying to catch her breath.

"She's getting my signature!" Rachel grabbed the paper and her hand moved frantically around her pocket. "Pen, pen, I need pen." She chanted under her breath. Quinn rolled her eyes again. _God,_ that Berry could get so dramatic sometimes.

"No I'm not." The woman said kindly and Rachel froze. "I mean, I do love your performance but I'm not getting an autograph." She added apologetically and Rachel's shoulders dropped to the ground. Quinn felt her heart dropped together too, as the sparkle in Rachel's eyes was replaced with disappointment. She awkwardly took the paper from Rachel.

"Project love?" She perked an eyebrow and the woman nodded excitedly.

"Yes! It's an annual competition in Gay Town for young lovers like you two!"

"Gay Town?"

"Lovers?"

They exclaimed in shock together.

The woman nodded, oblivious to the horror scribbled across their faces. "Yes!" She clapped excitedly.

Quinn and Rachel gazed into each other, jaws dropped and eyes widened.

"Madam, this is a mistake." Rachel shrugged awkwardly. Why was her face burning?

"Yes, absolutely. We are FAR from being lovers." Quinn added and dropped her gaze to the ground. This was so ridiculous.

The woman gave them her kindest grin and held both of their hands together. Quinn resisted the urge to retreat her hand.

"It's OK my dear." She said with kindness in her voice. "No one here is going to judge you. We are a Gay Town for Christ sake! Almost all of us are gay." She laughed. "You don't have to hide." She winked and just when Quinn and Rachel thought their jaws could not drop further, they did.

"You guys just reminded me of my younger self with my partner." She added with sad eyes. "But she's no longer here…" She let out a breath and walked away. Rachel and Quinn trailed their eyes behind the sloughing backview and their heart sank.

The backview of somebody who had love and lost.

"I'm so sorry…" Rachel cried out and the woman dismissed her with a wave.

When the backview disappeared around the corner, Quinn's eyes dropped to the registration form and laughed. "Lovers? What a joke." She murmured under her breath. She slapped the form back to Rachel's hand and strolled off.

They had $300 to tide through tonight. They did not need this stupid competition.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Quinn pushed the door of the motel with Rachel following behind her. The bell chirped to announce their arrival.

The motel looked decent, although not grand. They could deal with that. A gay couple were making out at the corner of the hall and Quinn and Rachel looked away in discomfort. The words from the earlier encounter burning through their faces. Quinn cleared her throat and scanned through their pricelist. She frowned. $200 per night?

"Due to festive season." The receptionist shrugged lazily without lifting his eyes from his computer. Quinn puffed out a sigh. She was about to turn and leave when Rachel grabbed her hand and pointed to the notice beside her.

**Couple will enjoy 50% off during this festive season!**

They stared at each other. Surely they could be a "couple" for a day? Quinn shook her head in dismay. How could Rachel even consider that? Rachel frowned.

_Desperate times call for desperate measures!_ Her brows knitted in exasperation.

_We are not THAT desperate yet..._Quinn mimicked her frown.

Rachel folded her arms. Her eyes widened and tilted slightly to the pricelist. _Fabray, You sure?_

She scowled unconsciously. $200 per night was about two third of their cash. Besides, there was still a possibility that they might need to stay here longer than expected... But pretending to be a couple with Rachel Berry? They did not have to touch each other... right?

Gosh, why was Rachel Berry looking at her with that... _judgemental_ look?

She sighed and gazed away and Rachel smiled a triumph smile, proud to have won the silent argument.

She grinned to the receptionist. "We are…" She started and pointed awkwardly to Quinn and back to herself. She paused, searching for a more appropriate word.

"...together." Quinn breathed out. She still could not believe that she had agreed to this. This whole situation was getting absurd.

"As in…I'm her lady." Rachel emphasized and Quinn resisted the strong urge to stuck her eyes at the back of eyelid. The fire burning her skin. The receptionist raised his eyebrow in cautious. His eyes prying. Rachel swallowed her saliva in despair, feeling like his stares were going to penetrate their lies.

She laughed nervously and turned to Quinn, doing the only thing she knew how to do.

She sang.

"Cause I am your lady...And you are my man." She paused, realizing how wrong it sounded. "Cause I am your lady...And you are my woma-." Quinn nudged her painfully at her ribs and she shut her mouth instantly.

Tension grew with each second and Rachel shifted uneasily under his gaze.

Quinn cleared her throat to break the moment and draped her hands over Rachel's shoulders awkwardly. Rachel tensed at her contact and tried to ignore the funny twinge in her stomach and the sudden flash of warmth all over her body. They flashed an awkward smile.

When the receptionist were still darting them with that _damn_ look, Rachel bend her hand at her elbow and intertwined her fingers into Quinn's apprehensively. Quinn jumped slightly at that gesture. Both of them shifted uneasily and flashed what they hoped appeared to look like a smile. Quinn felt sweat trailing at the back of her neck.

The room was sure getting hot.

The receptionist shrugged again and turned back to his computer.

"A single Queen size bed I suppose? To feel the power of love?" He questioned. Rachel raised her brows, slightly impressed that he actually knew the title to the song she had just coughed out before the realization of what he had just said settled over her.

"NO!" Both of them screamed in union. Quinn darted a killer glare at Rachel which she chose to ignore. Fine, maybe that wasn't the perfect song to choose but she was nervous!

When the receptionist gazed up to them curiously, they puffed out a humourless laugh.

"I mean, we are still young…"

"We're planning to hold it till…you know…24"

"Yea yea totally. 24 is a good age."

The place was suddenly burning.

"Too bad, we only have 1 single Queen size bed room available." He said before turning back to his computer. Rachel and Quinn shared a glance."Festive season." He added. _Damn _this stupid gay town and _damn_ the festive season.

Surely they could survive one night together? Desperate times... They sighed in synchrony.

Rachel cleared her throat. "In that case, can I have a room near to the toilet if there isn't any in the room?" The receptionist frowned in slight annoyance. "You know, ..er.._my baby Quinne _here can't hold her bladder quite well." She felt Quinn's eyes burning holes on her but she ignored. She did not plan to walk to the toilet in the middle of the night! Imagine all the possibilities of getting attacked! At the corner of Quinn's eyes, she saw the couple who were making out earlier now watching them in amusement. Her face turned into nine shades of red.

"Well...Can we also request to have our bedsheet and pillowcases to be changed daily as well?" Quinn injected. "_My baby Rach_ here tends to drool in her sleep." She threw a smug look to Rachel and pasted a well-practiced fake grin on her beautiful face.

Rachel turned to her, horrified. "I do not!" Her blush deepened in fury. _God,_ if this were to spread, what would happen to her career! Drooling and fame did not go well with each other!

Quinn shrugged in fake helplessness. "I think our cat was drowned by that. Just saying"

Before Rachel could argue, the receptionist interrupted them.

"Firstly Madams, welcome to Gay Town Motel. My name is Dude, you can call me Dude. Glad to be of service. I'm delighted to inform that your request for a single Queen sized bed for a night has been accepted. Toilet is included in the room and yes, room service is daily. This is your key and we need a 50% deposit for the room." He ended with a grin on his face. Quinn resisted the urge to correct him. They _did not_ request for a single Queen sized bed.

They were literally forced to accept it.

Quinn pulled out a $50 and handed it to him. He grinned again. 'Thank you and have a nice day." And with that, he returned back to his computer as if he was never interrupted. Rachel and Quinn gazed at each other and eased away awkwardly to their room, with their hands still attached. Their legs tangled and Rachel surged forward. Quinn secured her roughly with her opposite hand. "God, Berry. Besides needing to learn what and when to sing, do you need to learn how to walk too?" She murmured under her breath.

"Quinn! Your leg tripped me. And did you not see how he was looking at me? I was nervous! That was my best shot." Rachel whispered in defense.

"Excuses."

And they bickered all the way to their room.

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

A/N: Thanks for all the comments! It really motivates an author to continue and you guys are making me really excited to update it. Thank you! Keep them pouring please.

Mentioned:  
>Power of love - Celine Dione<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Day 1:**

"What do you mean by you guys can't come back?" Quinn questioned, after snatching the phone from Rachel. Rachel frowned.

"Get them to turn it back." She demanded and her face turned into a scowl.

"_God damnit_, I'll pay for it!"

"Frankeenteen, I hope that you are aware _your girlfriend_ is stuck with me in this damn _Gay_ Town." She spited, anger slowly overwhelmed her.

"I'm not waiting till 8 days later. Hello? Hello? Damnit!" She threw the phone to Rachel, pissed off.

"What did he say?"

"He said the bus can only pick us up 8 days later, when they are on their way back. Because it's the festive season and all slots are booked."

"So we're stuck here?" Rachel swallowed her saliva, panic evident in her voice.

"Stuck without money, yes. Your boyfriend is an asshole." She groaned in annoyance.

Another lump was swallowed. "What are we gonna do?"

Quinn turned to Rachel and looked away. Rachel should stop giving her that look.

"Please don't sing again." She mumbled under her breath and Rachel swallowed a lump of fear together with her song.

They sat in silence, contemplating their next move. $200 will definitely not be enough to last for 8 days.

As though being struck, Rachel dug out the registration form from her pocket. She waved it infront of Quinn.

"This." She said, as a light bulb blinked furiously inside her. Quinn groaned again and slapped her hand away.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Quinn, listen to me. We need the money. Anyway, just treat this like acting. I could certainly use this experience for my further roles!" Rachel's voice was getting louder as she became more convinced than ever that this would be a good experience for her...them... _Whatever_. The excitement sparkled in her voice.

"God Berry, you do know we will have to touch each other right?"

"Well...If that's part of my role." Rachel bit her lips and dropped her gaze to the floor, suddenly apprehensive. Touching Quinn Fabray would be a challenge.

"No, I'm not touching you and that's final." Quinn ended the conversation and left no room for argument.

XOXOXOXOXO

Quinn had no idea how it happened.

She grumpily shot Rachel an annoyed glance. She beamed brightly at her which just made her more annoyed.

The lady took their registration form and grinned. "Hi, Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry?"

_Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry._ The two names that were never placed side by side. It even sounded strange to her.

_Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry._

_Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry._

_Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry._

Gosh, it sounded like some curse to her.

"Yes!"Rachel chirped and Quinn sighed under her breath. She shot Rachel another dirty look which was conveniently ignored again. Was she losing her touch? Quinn frowned slightly. Maybe she was being too soft to Rachel lately. She heaved a deep sigh.

Rachel was whining for hours about being broke and starving to death. And when she decided it was not working, she changed her tactic and started choosing songs and preparing her speech for her funeral. She guessed the last straw was when she tasked Quinn to present the speech.

_S_he was so conned to it.

"So what's your team name?"

Rachel bit her lips and frowned. Team name...

"Quichel." She said and Quinn grimaced. What kind of name was that? Sounded like some kind of seashell. Hell, if she's joining this shit, she's going to at least be represented by a decent name.

"No, Faberry. Team Faberry." Rachel raised both her eyebrows. She was mildly surprised that Quinn had finally decided to break the silence.

"Team Faberry..." The girl wrote and smiled. "Awesome. How long have you guys been together?"

"2 years."

"1 year."

They replied simultaneously and the girl perked up an eyebrow. Rachel side glanced Quinn, feeling slightly annoyed. She already had her story planned out and 2 years was a good duration for any couple. Not too long yet not too short either.

"Well Baby Rach, I wasn't aware that we were together for so long."Quinn commented a tad too sweetly. Rachel almost overdosed in her sweetness. She shivered inside her.

"Quinnie, how could you forget the time where you were dedicating a love song to me during Glee? What's that song..?"She paused and knitted her brows as though in deep thoughts. "Ah... Without you. Although you cracked so badly at the high note that I was having weeks of nightmare after that, that memory was sweet." She laughed out and hooked her hand over Quinn's. Quinn tensed at her touch and balled her hands to stop herself from slapping Rachel's hand away.

"She's sweet isn't she?"She mouthed to the girl and Quinn felt her face turning red. The girl gave them an amused beam and Quinn had to clench her jaws to stop herself from cursing.

_Rachel freaking Berry._

"Gosh yeah Baby Rach, I guess my memory is failing me. Because all I could remember was the time when you kneeled down wearing your revolting argyle sweater with an adorable smile pasted on your _god damn_ face and practically begged me to be with you. "Quinn smirked, trying to contain the anger rising inside her. When she saw Rachel fluttered and almost slipped her hand off hers, she held on to it and patted her hand, all the while with an irritating grin on her face.

Revenge was so damn sweet.

"I...Quinnie, I wasn't kneeling. I was...was sitting. And it was a dare by Santana by the way, to see if you're really in love with me. I guess you were." Rachel rebutted, not bothering to hide her fury. She shot Quinn a glare. Both of them held on to their gazes, refused to back down in and surrender. Their exchange was interrupted by the girl's laughter and they scowled at her in synchrony.

"What's so funny?" They snapped and the girl only laughed harder, highly amused.

"Team Faberry, we'll see you in two days."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Rachel switched the bag of necessities which they had just bought from the Supermart from one hand to another. She was sure that her hands were going to ache tomorrow. She watched with indignation as Quinn whistled and skipped infront of her, hands as free as a bird.

"Hurry up _Baby Rach_."She chirped a little too happily and continued to skip infront of her. She swung the bag behind her and frowned. She will not ask Quinn Fabray for help. She will not!

She quickened her steps to match Quinn's and raised her head up high. She threw her a smug glance. Quinn frowned at her sudden speed and skipped even faster, leaving Rachel at the back. She smirked and swirled around a lamp post to face Rachel.

She shook her head in disapproval. "You got to hurry up _Baby Rach_."She called out before skipping away again. Rachel groaned with annoyance.

Screw that Fabray.

She switched the bag into another hand and practically ran to Quinn's side. She was just a step away from Quinn before she was knocked off her feet by a stranger, her bag of necessities scattered to the ground. Rachel winced in pain.

"Watch where you're going." The stranger shrugged and walked away. Rachel groaned, her head spinning from the impact. She sat up with her hand supporting her head. She felt tears forming in her eyes. "I will not cry. I will not."She murmured under her breath as the tears continued to cloud her vision against her will. She felt a bruise forming at her lower back and butt. She swallowed a lump in her throat. She's in pain! "Out here on my own..." She sang and sniffed, feeling more alone than ever.

"I'm sorry Miss."

She glanced up and was surprised to see the same stranger squatting beside her, a mixture of fear and guilt hanging on his face. His eyes darted fearfully to Quinn, who was standing beside him with her hands on her hips. She looked...offended.

"Her name is Rachel." She chided.

"I'm sorry Rachel."He coughed out and Rachel frowned at that scene. What just happened? Rachel stood up clumsily and the stranger reached out to offer his hand. "Keep your hands to yourself."Quinn snapped and pushed him away to hold on to Rachel. The stranger scrambled away. Rachel leaned on to Quinn and her face turning bright red and a warm feeling swirling inside. She limped for a few steps before she stopped, forgetting something. She turned around and was surprised that the items on the floor were already gone. "Quinn, the stuff..."She started before her mouth snapped shut. There, on Quinn's hand was the bag of necessities which she held on easily. When did all of that happen?

"You need to start thinking faster Rachel."

Rachel felt her heart skipped a beat at her name. No more Berry. No more fake annoying _Baby Rach_. A smile slowly emerging on her face as she felt Quinn tightened her grip around her. She was practically holding her.

Maybe, she really could be Quinn's friend now.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Rachel's stomach growled loudly and her hand gripped her stomach in embarrassment. She gazed up slightly to Quinn and saw her biting her lips, trying hard not to laugh. She pouted. How many times must she be embarrassed infront of Quinn Fabray!

"Somebody is hungry..."Quinn said in a sing-song tune.

"It has been almost 5 hours 43 minutes since my last meal." Quinn laughed harder which made Rachel frowned and slapped her hand in irritation. "You're being annoying Quinn Fabray."

"I am aware that that is my job."She whistled and popped into a cafe, still holding on to Rachel. When they had settled down on an empty seat beside the door, Quinn scanned through the menu and perked an eyebrow.

"Do you have any vegan choices?"She asked the waiter. Rachel, who was sitting beside her, tilted her head towards her, wearing a look which she could not translate. "What?"She questioned, slightly flushed at the look. "I'm a vegan for the week."She tried to explain when she realised Rachel was still studying her with that look. "Christmas week and it's tradition."She continued, her throat muscles rippled as she swallowed. Fortunately for her, the waiter chose the right time to interrupt.

"Yes Madam, our vegan choices are at the back of the menu. Couple meals at 30% for this festive season." He beamed. Quinn and Rachel shared a knowing look. She apprehensively trailed her hand over Rachel's shoulder. Rachel's body tensed for a split second before she bent her elbow and their fingers reached up to Quinn's. The second time felt so much smoother.

"Can we have two of this please?"Rachel pointed to the menu and Quinn nodded with a small grin. The festive season did not seem so bad after all.

XOXOXOXOXO

Quinn frowned at Rachel's choices of clothes.

"Reindeer, again?"

Rachel pouted in offence. "Quinn, they are beautiful."She insisted and Quinn scowled. She grabbed the sweater from Rachel and threw it a corner in disgust.

"Rachel, they are awful like hell. You do understand I'll have to wear it too right? No way will I be caught dead wearing that awful thing."Quinn spited. Rachel heaved a sigh and folded her arms. "Quinn, we have been going on and on about this and it seems like we will never agree on anything." Quinn groaned.

They had been spending close to an hour trying to decide what to buy as they couldn't possibility wear what they had for 8 days. And since there would be 50% off couple clothing, they would have to compromise with each other's choices. But they had been going on and on disagreeing with each other that they were both exhausted and exasperated.

"Look, you looked amazing in jeans and a good fitting shirt. Like the time when we were performing Empire State of Mind. Or better yet, those sinful looking shorts or skirts to short off your legs. You do not need this awful argyle sweater or that nun-like knee-length skirt!" Quinn huffed out, oblivious that she had just indirectly complimented Rachel. Rachel widened her eyes in surprised. Had Quinn been observing her? She almost laughed out loud at how absurd that thought was. But when Quinn continued, she was almost certain she was.

"And seriously, stop wearing colours that are maroon or yellow or whatever. You looked wayyyyyyy better in white or blue or black. Something classy yet not too over the top. And for the sake of Christ, stop wearing anything argyle! God." Quinn ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

A moment of silence passed before Rachel spoke.

"You think I look good in jeans?" Rachel tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, feeling shy out of the sudden. Quinn blinked, trying to recall what she had just said. "Well..."She shrugged. "I'm saying you looked_ better_ in jeans. Anything but that awful sweater." She added with a scowl.

"Okay, we'll get jeans then."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. That's it? All she had to do was to say that she looked better in jeans? Damn, she should have said that earlier!

"And that blouse that we saw just now? That blouse that hugs your figure at the right place? That one which you said made your...er...breast looked way too big?"

Rachel nodded. Quinn scratched her head, puzzled. This new Rachel Berry was way easier to handle.

"We should really get you a cardigan as well. It's getting chilly these days..." Quinn added and Rachel nodded.

"And..."Quinn took a step closer towards Rachel. Rachel's body turned rigid as Quinn's fingers threaded through her hair. The paths of her fingers leaving tingling sensation at her sculpt. "...your hair looked nicer when it's not tucked back."She breath out and for unknown reason, Rachel felt her heartbeat quicken and a weird sensation pooling between her legs. She licked her lips nervously.

"There."Quinn took a step back and beamed awkwardly. "Let's finally do some shopping."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

When they had finally returned to their motel, it was near 10pm. Rachel and Quinn dropped their bags of items and tiredly dragged their body to the bed. They had spent $15 on food $10 on their necessities and another $50 on clothes. They were left with $195, including Rachel's $20 she had with her. Deducting another $50 for tomorrow deposit for the room, they were left with $145.

They really needed to start finding ways to make some money before the start of the competition.

As they tiredly lay on the bed, sleep almost overtake them until a loud scream jerked them awake.

_"OH YESSSSSSSSSSS."_

They turned to each other with widened eyes.

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

Thanks for the feedback! I'll work on it. For all mistakes, please bear with me!

Keep the comments pouring in.

Song:

Irene Cara - Out here on my own


	4. Chapter 4

**Day 1:**

Rachel and Quinn lay on their bed, face burning with embarrassment as the screams continued. The room temperature shot up by 10 degrees.

_OH GOD YESSSS, HARDER BABY._

_OH GOSH THAT FEELS SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD._

The atmosphere between them thickened with fog of awkwardness.

"I think….we should try to sleep." Rachel murmured, avoiding Quinn's gaze as she scrambled to her feet to reach for the lights. She tripped over the bags of items and cursed slightly under her breath.

"Yes yes, we should." Quinn agreed for the first time since they arrived. She tucked herself beneath the blanket and tossed away from Rachel. They briefly contemplated if they should freshen up first before another scream invaded their thoughts. They decided against it.

They tucked the blanket beneath their chin, trying very hard not to touch each other in the confined space that they were sharing.

_HARDER BABY… HARDER._

And they blushed further, pulling the blanket over their heads to muffle the screams. They got louder instead.

_GOSH, RIGHT..YEAH._

_YEAH... I LIKE IT WHEN YOU DO..OHHH._

After a few minutes of trying, Rachel gave up. She bolted up from the bed and switched on the lights, her face as red as tomato.

"Lights Rachel." Quinn mumbled under the blanket.

"How long are you trying to pretend to sleep?" Rachel questioned, her hands tucked beneath her breast. Her heart was racing for unknown reason.

"Forever." Quinn replied without intention to roll out of the bed, opting for the Fabray style of sweeping things under the carpet. Clearly, Rachel was not giving Quinn that option. Rachel gripped the edge of the blanket and tried to pull it off her. Quinn reacted by gripping it even tighter over her head. They fought the blanket match, refusing to budge.

_AHHHHHH..._

"Get it off Quinn." Rachel exclaimed, using two hands and muscles which she never knew existed. Quinn reiterated by rolling the blanket over her body. "No." Her voice muffled by the blanket. Rachel scowled.

"Get it off! We need to talk without the blanket." Rachel chided, frustration overwhelmed her.

"No."

Feeling exasperated, Rachel used her body weight to tug the blanket. "I said we need to-" Without warning, Quinn rolled off the blanket and Rachel surged forward with a thump. When she looked up, Quinn's face was so red that she could almost feel the heat radiating from her face.

"What is there to talk about?" She grunted, her eyes looking anywhere but at Rachel.

_OH OH I'M COMING._

And their blush deepened.

"I can't sleep with them …screaming like that." Rachel bit her lips awkwardly, noticed that Quinn was breathing harder as well.

"Is that what you wanna talk about?"

Rachel pushed herself off the floor. She reached out to Quinn, her embarrassment was replaced with excitement that almost made Quinn blushed further.

"One solution - Let's sing." She flashed her pearly whites.

Quinn contemplated. It didn't seem like a bad idea, definitely better than the screams that were getting way louder now.

_COMING BABY...COMING SO BAD._

"Okay, something loud." Quinn nodded and for the second time of the day, came to a mutual agreement. Quinn saw Rachel's grin reached her eyes and she schooled her face to prevent a smile emerging because of that smile.

"You first." Rachel tucked her lower lips under her teeth, her mind browsing for an appropriate song. She frowned slightly, realizing that she didn't have a song suitable for...a situation like this.

"Okay, I have a song now." Quinn stood up from the bed while Rachel threw her the comb.

"Do a mike test!" Quinn scowled, but did it anyway. Rachel did an OK sign and Quinn started, softly.

_Do you ever feel like breaking down?_

_Do you ever feel out of place?_

_Like somehow you just don't belong_

_And no one understands you_

Rachel swayed her shoulders to the beat and snapped her fingers.

Quinn closed her eyes, as the familiar words rolled off her tongue.

_Do you ever wanna run away?_

_Do you lock yourself in your room?_

_With the radio on, turned up so loud_

_That no one hears you screaming_

_No you don't know what it's like_

_When nothing feels alright_

_You don't know what it's like, to be like me_

And finally, she stood up still with her eyes still closed, memories and heartaches drenching her like an open tap.

_To be hurt, to feel lost, to be left out in the dark_

_To be kicked, when you're down_

_To feel like you've been pushed around_

_To be on the edge of breaking down_

_When no one's there to save you_

"No you don't know what it's like..."Quinn's voice drifted off to a soft sigh. She dropped back to the bed, suddenly feeling emotionally drained.

As she opened her eyes, she was taken aback when she realized Rachel was staring at her, so intense that she felt penetrated. When did all that snapping stop? Rachel leaned forward so close that they were now breathing the same air. She reached out to Quinn and she flickered slightly. Gently, Rachel brushed her hand against Quinn's face, like she was afraid of hurting her. It was then that she realized tears were rolling down her face.

"Welcome to my life_." _She whispered and eased away from Rachel. She sniffed and averted her gaze to the ground, embarrassed. Rachel heaved a soft sigh and busied herself with her hands, giving Quinn a moment of privacy.

_THAT FEELS SO GOODDDDD_

Quinn cleared her throat. "What's yours?" She asked, hoping to diffuse the tension and the sudden outburst from their neighbour. Rachel frowned. She had not have a song ready yet. In fact, she was so engrossed with Quinn's performance that it was thrown to the back of her head.

She gazed up at Quinn, thinking before something inside her twinkled.

She had the perfect song.

She took the comb from Quinn and did a mike test. Quinn rolled her eyes at her, mildly surprised that her annoying gesture made her feel better instantly. Rachel grinned and before she sing, she winked.

_You're way too beautiful girl_

_That's why it'll never work_

_You'll have me suicidal, suicidal_

_When you say it's over_

She pointed to Quinn with an exaggerated sadness on her face.

_Damn all these beautiful girls_

_They only wanna do your dirt_

_They'll have you suicidal, suicidal_

_When they say it's over_

She skipped to behind Quinn and swung her to her left. The expression on her face was so comical that Quinn had to bit her lips from laughing out loud.

_See it started at the park_

_Used to chill at the dark_

_Oh when you took my heart_

_That's when we fell apart_

_Coz we both thought_

_That love lasts forever (lasts forever)_

Then she pushed her to her right.

_They say we're too young_

_To get ourselves sprung_

_Oh we didn't care_

_We made it very clear_

_And they also said_

_That we couldn't last together (last together)_

She spun Quinn around until she was facing her. Her face lightened up when she finally saw Quinn smiling widely. Quinn Fabray hardly had smiles that reach her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat knowing she was the one who had made her smile like that.

_See it's very define, girl_

_One of a kind_

_But you mush up my mind_

_You walk to get declined_

_Oh Lord..._

_My baby is driving me crazy_

Rachel took a step back, her hands traced Quinn's figure. Quinn blushed slightly at her gesture and playfully swatted her hand away.

_You're way too beautiful girl_

_That's why it'll never work_

_You'll have me suicidal, suicidal_

_When you say it's over_

_Damn all these beautiful girls_

_They only wanna do your dirt_

_They'll have you suicidal, suicidal_

_When they say it's over_

The look on Quinn face made Rachel's heartbeat quickened. Her tears were no longer running and the pure joy on her face just set her heart on fire. Her hand surged forward to Quinn's before her mind could register. Quinn's brows rose, slightly taken aback at her sudden gesture. Rachel blinked, as though surprised herself. There were so many things running through her mind that she couldn't come out with anything concrete. Her thoughts scrambled everywhere. But when she opened her mouth, the words rolled out beautifully.

"Quinn, you're alot better than you think you are." She whispered, eye shimmering with conviction.

Quinn felt herself lost in her words, the familiar sourish sensation burning her lids. She suppressed the urge to tear again.

_I'M COMING! OH GOD. _

Quinn and Rachel blinked. All tension, embarrassment and awkwardness morphed to amusement.

Rachel felt a ripple of laughter balling inside her. When she saw Quinn's face red from trying to swallow her laughter, she succumbed to the laughing devil. Her body shook violently and tears of laughter were now tumbling down her face.

Quinn let out a rib-shaking laugh and Rachel found herself laughing along with her. It was then, realization dawned onto her that for the first time, she was laughing _with _Quinn Fabray and not being laughed at _by_ Quinn Fabray.

It felt _so damn_ good to watch Quinn laugh _and_ even better to laugh with her.

"This has to be the most hilarious situation to be in, ever." Quinn coughed out, her stomach in pain from laughing so hard. Rachel nodded, trying to muffle her laughter which was getting louder with a pillow.

And for the third time in the day, they agreed with each other.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

**Day 2:**

Rachel brushed her teeth in a downward motion, trying to calm her racing heart. God, she felt like she's about to have a heart attack, the feeling of Quinn's breath on her neck while she was sleeping overwhelmed every particle in her body. She blushed, trying to concentrate on brushing her teeth. She counted to twenty before she moving on to the next tooth, using whatever willpower she had to focus on her task.

She was mildly successful when the door budged open and a sleepyhead Quinn dragged her body into the toilet. Rachel blushed again for unknown reason. It couldn't be because Quinn looked so damn adorable when her hair was messy right?

Quinn turned and blinked, slightly surprised to find Rachel in the toilet.

"Gosh, so all these weren't a nightmare?"She grumpily murmured and grabbed her toothbrush. Rachel glared at her and tried to focus on her task. But Quinn was making it damn hard by looking...that way.

They brushed in silence, making no attempt to strike a conversation.

Rachel spited the foam in her mouth and started brushing her bottom set of teeth, all the while trying to avoid looking at Quinn in the mirror.

Quinn, oblivious of all these tension, ran her hand through her hair, trying to tame it as much as possible. Rachel felt her eyes gravitated to that sight – Quinn with a messed up hair looked so...

Quinn spited the foam in her mouth and Rachel was snapped out of her state. She noticed her breathing got harder and tried her ultimate best to calm her racing heart which was excited for whatever reason.

Rachel spited and her hand quickened its pace, suddenly desperate to get out of the toilet

Quinn imitated her.

When their gaze met through the mirror, they lingered slightly longer than they should. Then Quinn smirked, which no doubt spelt challenge.

_That's so childish Quinn Fabray._ Rachel rolled her eyes.

_Afraid of losing?_ Quinn arched an eyebrow, questioning.

_Bring it on._

Rachel spited the foam in her mouth and hastily did a couple more brushes. She was not even halfway through her routine. She had to pick up her pace if she really wants to win this silly stupid competition with Quinn. Her hand worked faster and her eyes averted to Quinn every second.

She watched as Quinn rinsed her mouth and threw back the toothbrush into the cup, an annoying triumphant smile on her face.

"Have fun brushing Baby Rach."She chirped and whistled as she strolled out.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Quinn briefly averted her gaze to the toilet, a smile playing on her lips. She loved that annoyed look on Rachel's face. She stifled an oncoming laughter. It's so easy to poke Rachel in the wrong way. She whistled, mood brightened up.

She took out the shirt and jeans which they had bought yesterday and paused.

Rachel would probably take a couple more minutes before she's done brushing her teeth (speaking from experience, afterall they did had a couple of field trips together).

She shrugged and threw her shirt and pants off, positive that she could make it before Rachel's out. She was halfway through her jeans before the toilet door burst opened.

Rachel, with her toothbrush and tooth paste still in her mouth stormed out of the bathroom.

"Quinn Fabray that was..." She stopped on her track.

"...cheating." The words rolled out on its own. She blinked, twice.

For a moment, nobody moved and the world seemed to halt...

...before all hell broke loose.

"OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD."

Quinn's legs tangled in her jeans as she tried hastily to pull them up her legs. She lost her balance and fell forward to the bed. She spun around and grabbed her shirt, her jeans halfway through her thighs.

"What the HECK BERRY!"

"I'm SO SORRY! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY!" Rachel turned around, blood gushing to her face.

"DON'T YOU KNOCK?"

"KNOCK ON THE TOILET DOOR?"Rachel scoffed. Quinn was being ridiculous.

"Just shut up and roll back to the toilet!" Quinn hissed.

"Don't tell me what to do!"Rachel exclaimed but ran back to the toilet anyway.

With her back against the toilet door, she tried to catch her breath and push out the images of Quinn's half-naked body which were now attacking her every sense.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Quinn was giving her the silence treatment, which was so unfair. It wasn't even her fault. She scowled at was the victim as well. After seeing those… those images, they have been stuck at the back of her eyelids, traumatizing her. She bit her lips to stop a smile creeping up her face.

Quinn Fabray half-naked.

A blush colored her face as she trailed behind Quinn, lost in her thoughts.

"Free burgers for all drive-through. One redemption each. Complementary from Gay Town burger joint."

Quinn paused on her track and Rachel ended up knocking hard against her back. Quinn growled and spun around, her brows knitted together and her face squashed together in displeased. Rachel Berry was really annoying her to the max. Rachel swallowed a lump in her throat nervously and looked away.

"Free burgers for all drive-through. One redemption each. Complementary from Gay Town burger joint."

Quinn took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to calm the anger and annoyance towards the petite brunette. They still have 7 days together and being angry with each other will not help the _damn_ screwed up situation.

"Hungry?"

Rachel's head tilted up and the flashed in the chocolate-brown eyes almost evaporated all the anger in her. Rachel nodded.

"Almost to the extent of starvation."

Quinn coughed out a laugh, amused again by the drama queen infront of her.

"I have the perfect idea for free food."Quinn smirked, the excitement and joy in the hazel eyes made Rachel's heart skipped a beat. "It's alittle desperate and would require alittle bit of your acting skills..." Quinn continued. "...And most importantly, your dying promise that what happens in Gay Town, stays in Gay Town." She ended in a serious tone, her eyes fixated on Rachel, unwavering

Rachel's brows perked curiously.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Thank you and have a nice day!" The server greeted. He choked on his saliva when he saw two girls, a blonde and a petite brunette riding on a bicycle through their drive-through.

"Hi, can we have two vegan burgers please."The petite brunette grinned a little too widely. He blinked and scanned his surrounding, expecting a hidden camera somewhere. He scratched his head at the bizarreness of the situation.

"Sorry Miss, but only for drive- through."He said, suddenly embarrassed. The petite brunette's grin widened.

"Drive-through, ride-through, aren't they the same?"She chirped and her hand wrapped around the blonde who was avoiding his gaze.

Well, technically speaking...they were indeed somewhat the same... His eyes roamed from the brunette to the blonde and back.

"OK, two burgers. Anything else?" He sighed, still amused by the situation.

The brunette paused. Hell, since they were already there, they might as well make full use of the deal. Afterall, actresses improvised from their script right? With a swift motion, the brunette hopped off the bicycle. The blonde turned around, fear and horror flickering on her face. The brunette beckoned to the server to lean closer towards her, her eyes surveying her surrounding before she whispered.

"Can we redeem additional 2 burgers for my twins? Little..er.. Barbara and Lucy..." The server widened his eyes impossibility. "…who at the present moment, are inside my belly?" She rubbed her flat stomach affectionately with a grin.

The server scratched his head again. After 3 years of working at Gay Town Burger Joint, this was definitely another first.

"Sorry Miss, technically speaking, foetus aren't really a human being yet..."He cleared his throat, trying to sound less offensive. He saw the blonde face palm and shook her head, clearly embarrassed.

"But they can't be humans if they are starving in me..."She pouted and the server felt himself melting at her pout. "My poor Barbara and Lucy..." She continued and turned to the blonde. "Quinnie, the mother of my babies, our little ones may need to starve…" She cried.

The server hung his head low, slightly ashamed, oblivious of the killer glares darting from the blonde to the brunette. The server shrugged. Anyway, what's the harm right? It's just additional 2 burgers...

"Very well. Please keep this to yourself. I still want to keep my job."He mumbled, his eyes darting to his manager warily,who was busy attending to the customers in the restaurant.

"Thank you! You have to be one of the best people around. Yay to Gay Town Burger Joint!"The brunette cheered and the server blushed. She was gorgeous.

When she spun around, however, the joy on her face morphed to a scowl. She almost dropped her bag of burgers. Her mouth hanging open and her eyes trailing to the backview of the blonde who was...well, looking like she was escaping.

"Quinn Fabray! Come back!"She hissed, looking around her to see if anybody noticed the commotion. She quickened her steps towards the direction of the blonde, the bag of burgers swinging in her arms.

"Quinn Fabray! You shouldn't make a pregnant woman run!" She exclaimed, not bothering with the stares which were obviously throwing at them now. The blonde stopped and threw the brunette a dirty look. She murmured something which made the brunette pout. The brunette hopped onto the bicycle, her right arm around the blonde and her left hand protectively over the burgers.

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

**Comment and make my day...again? **

**Song: **

**Welcome to my life - Simple Plan**

**Beautiful Girl - Sean Kingston**


	5. Chapter 5

**Day 2:**

Quinn threw her hands up in frustration. Damn this stubborn and annoying Rachel Berry! GOD!

"Berry, this song has many layers and it will surely capture the attention of the judges!"

Rachel folded her arms across her chest, refused to back down. Afterall, who knows performing more than she does?

"Quinn, firstly, this is a sad song which was included in my funeral playlist by the way. Secondly, it's for couples who are together for 30 years and above, not for teenagers like us."

Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Love me is an all-time classic which spells no age differences. Besides, all love comes in some degree of sadness."She rebutted, wearing the same look as Rachel.

Rachel let out a sigh of frustration.

"The judges want to hear joy, not sadness!" She swung her hands up to prove her point.

Quinn imitated her sigh and her hands moved to her hips. She lifted her chest higher, trying to intimidate the petite brunette.

"This song does not only comprise of sadness, Berry. Look at the lyrics! There's love, gratitude, promises. This song singlehandedly beat all the other suggestions you had."She huffed.

Rachel widened her eyes in anger. How could she compare her song with all her Broadway classic!

"Quinn! The song I had in mind is a classic as well! Broadway classic, mind you. You have yet to listen to it to make your judgement! I am offended by how close-minded you are!"

Their breathing quickened. Once again, they were breathing down each other neck on an issue which both parties had no intention to back off. The competition was less than 24 hours away and they had yet to come to a conclusion as to what performance would give them a better edge in winning.

And they so desperately needed to win this shit.

Quinn rolled her eyes and felt a tingle of competitiveness awaken. She would not let Rachel win this time. She squared her shoulders and allowed the competitiveness in her cloud her sense.

Whatever it takes.

"Berry, aren't you being yourself again? Self-absorbed, Miss-know-it-all... It would really help if you could just stop being so freaking annoying. That's the reason why Finn always ended up running back to me!"

Fine, personal attack was alittle below the belt but Quinn really wanted to win this argument.

Rachel looked like she had just been slapped across her face. The pain and hurt on Rachel's face made Quinn instantly want to take them all back and shoved them back down her throat. The anger hugging the atmosphere quickly evolved into pain and hurt. Rachel's lips quivered, her eyes red from trying to suppress the sob. She averted her gaze to the floor and Quinn almost reached out to her in regret before Rachel spun around and headed out of the room.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Quinn grabbed onto Rachel's hand. She turned around and pulled her hand away from her grip. The prick of pain was unexpected. Quinn swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I didn't mean that way."She said softly, hoping Rachel would take that as an apology and let it go. But when Rachel looked up into her eyes, Quinn felt another prick of heartache at how much pain were screaming through them. She stopped breathing altogether. The bitter taste at the back of her tongue made her grimace in displeasure. That must be the taste of guilt.

"Didn't mean it that way doesn't mean it will hurt any lesser."Rachel snapped, her voice cold and cutting. Quinn looked away, the apology at the tip of her tongue refused to roll out.

They stood there, consumed in silence.

It was then footsteps from the afar invaded them. Dude appeared from the corner with a broom on his hand, surprised to see the blonde and brunette standing apart from each other, obviously in the mid of a fight.

He eyed them curiously but decided to ignore.

"Can we talk about this later?"Quinn whispered, her eyes studying Dude who she was sure was eavesdropping their conversation.

"Why should I Quinn? Why should I listen? Especially after what you had just said?" Rachel's voice broke as she tried to swallow another lump of pain and...betrayal? Quinn felt nauseas at the bitterness in Rachel's tone. She reached out to her and took it as a good sign when she did not pull out of her grip. Quinn's eyes darted to Dude who was peeping at them now, obviously curious.

"Rachel, please?"She pleaded and she felt Rachel softened at that. Taking it as an opportunity, she pulled her awkwardly into an embrace, trying to make it look like a couple quarrel between them. Their bodies tensed at the contact.

They stood there as they thawed, melting the ice between them. Their bodies relaxed and Quinn felt herself pulling Rachel tighter towards her. Unspoken apologies hanging in the air. Can apologies be replaced by hugs?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Rachel sucked and bit hard on her neck without warning. Quinn jerked in pain.

"What the..."She cursed and pulled herself away from Rachel. Her hand rubbing the spot which Rachel had just bitten. That was so gonna bruise.

"A sorry would be nice but I shall not be such a diva about it."She smirked and skipped back towards their room.

Quinn so wanted to be pissed off, annoyed at the minimal.

But she failed terribly when a smile crept up her face instead.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Quinn felt the bed shook slightly and groaned. She pulled the blanket closer to her chest, hoping to be taken away by the sleep monster again. However, being a light sleeper, this bed shaking was really affecting her sleep.

"Stop shaking."She murmured, hoping Rachel would get the hint and stop whatever she was doing. When the shaking continued, she frowned.

What the hell was Rachel doing?

Then something slapped her hard in the face, the voices from last night flashback to her.

It couldn't be right...

She tried to listen for moans or any kind of sound that may provide her with some hint. But the night was silent, which was strange since Rachel snores in her sleep. She contemplated if she should interrupt her activity.

Quinn felt her face burning at that thought and brushed it aside.

No way was she going to interrupt.

She decided, she shall subtly make Rachel stop whatever she was doing.

With her eyes closed, she turned to face Rachel's back. She stopped, waiting for the bed-shaking activity to stop. But it did not. She almost face palm herself, forgetting that Rachel sucks at taking hints.

She gave a fake yawn before she accidentally slapped her hand over Rachel.

It was then she realized something was wrong.

"Rachel, are you OK?"She asked and sat up from her sleeping position, pulling Rachel to face her. Her hand stayed on her.

"God Rachel, you're shivering!"

Rachel groaned. "Cold..."She murmured weakly. Quinn's hand frantically reached for her forehead and it scalded her hand. Rachel was running a temperature.

"God Rachel, shit. Shit shit. We need to call the ambulance."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

It turned out, Quinn did not know the number for the ambulance. She piggybacked Rachel down to the reception.

"Dude,we need the ambulance. Rachel is running a high fever and she's shivering badly. We need to get the ambulance. We need to get her fix. We need to..." She paused and took in a deep breath. The churning of her stomach was making her nauseas.

"WE. NEED. THE. DAMN. AMBULANCE."She emphasised each word with an extra bite. Dude's eyes darted from her to Rachel and back before he scribbled something on a piece of paper.

"The nearest 24 hours clinic is just around the corner. Going to be faster if you were to bring her there. Go straight turn left."

Quinn grabbed the paper and without thanking him, dashed out of the motel.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Quinn, I can walk."Rachel mumbled weakly against her ear.

"Shut up Rachel. You almost made me call the damn freaking ambulance."Quinn reproached. Although glad that she was no longer feeling sick at the bottom of her stomach, the unpleasant taste still lingered at the tip of her tongue at how close she was about to...

She bit her lips.

Rachel was having a bad case of food poisoning, probably allergic to some ingredient in their meals since they both ate the same thing yet Quinn was OK. Quinn had read papers about food allergies taking lives away. Granted, Rachel's case was not that extreme, but there's a chance right? A 0.1% chance was still a chance.

She suddenly felt anger rising in her.

How did she let something like that happen?

"Quinn..."Rachel mumbled.

"Hmmm..."

"I'm so glad you're here with me..." Quinn felt like all of the particles in her were going to break down and cry. How could Rachel say things like that after what she had done to her? Not only this, but everything that happened since day one.

She nodded, not trusting her voice to come out stable.

When they had finally reached their room, Quinn dropped Rachel gently onto the bed. It was then that she realized how weak she looked. She sat on the floor, her hand ran to her forehead again and let out a sigh of relief. The fever was finally gone. She tucked the blanket closer to her before Rachel reached out and held on to her hand.

With her eyes still closed, she murmured.

"Can you sing for me Quinnie?"

Quinn stifled a smile. Rachel was still Rachel, despite being sick.

Her eyes trailing on Rachel for a few seconds before she sang the first song that came to her mind.

_I can show you the world_

_Shining, shimmering, splendid_

_Tell me, princess, now when did_

_you last let your heart decide_

Rachel smirked and murmured, "Aladdin..."

_I can open your eyes_

_Take you wonder by wonder_

_Over, sideways, and under_

_On a magic carpet ride_

Quinn's free hand pushed Rachel's bangs aside and she beamed at how child-like Rachel looked.

_A whole new world_

_A new fantastic point of view_

_No one to tell us no_

_Or where to go_

_Or say we're only dreaming_

Quinn smiled when she realized Rachel's breathing became even, her hand still holding on to Quinn's.

_A whole new world_

_A dazzling place i never knew_

_But now from way up here_

_It's crystal clear_

_That now i'm in a whole new world _

_With you_

She was surprised, however, when she realized her free hand was now tracing Rachel's face gently. Every sense was frowning and demanded a reason for her action. But her heart seemed to be in control and her fingers continued its path from Rachel's eyebrows...

_Unbelievable sights_

...to her eyes...

_Indescribable feeling_

_Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling_

...to her nose...

_Through an endless diamond sky_

...to her cheeks...

_A whole new world_

...to her mouth...

_A hundred thousand things to see_

_I'm like a shooting star, I've come so far I can't go back to where i used to be_

...to her chin...

_A whole new world_

_Thats where we'll be _

...to her jawline...

_A thrilling change_

_A wonderous place_

"For you and me..."She trailed off, smiling slightly as she watched Rachel sleep.

"Goodnight Rachel." She whispered under her breath and before she could stop herself, leaned forward to plant a small kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you Quinn..."She heard before she could pull herself away from Rachel.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

**Thanks for taking time to comment! I've worked this out in a frantic rush so that I can publish it before New year. ****Last chapter in 2011, h****ope to revive some achele/faberry feelings. **

**Happy New year all my readers. I hope you know how grateful I am that somebody is reading this. **

**Song:**

**A whole new world - Aladdin**


	6. Chapter 6

**Day 3:**

Quinn rolled herself away from Rachel, embarrassed at how she was practically sleeping _on_ Rachel. She sighed and pulled her knees towards her. Events from yesterday came crashing down on her like gravity.

The feelings...the gestures...the inability to control herself.

God, what did all of that translated to?

Was she...? All the light in the world was suddenly sucked and replaced by cold, empty darkness as a hint of realization dawned on her. She shivered and shook her head violently, cursing herself for even entertaining that thought.

She buried her face into her hands, her heartbeat palpitating beside her ears.

_Fuck it,_ it was not what she thought it was, obviously. She was feeling anxious because... Rachel was sick. And she felt _the need_ to be responsible for her. Because they were in _this, together_. Because if anything were to happen to her, she would be the_ first_ to be blamed and God knew she didn't need another reason to be labelled.

Her eyes shifted unconsciously to Rachel and for a moment, nothing matters. It was like the world halted because Rachel was looking so peaceful in her sleep. Her fingers tingled with sensation and she had to look away. Biting the bottom of her lips, she forced the urge to touch Rachel's face again down her windpipe.

This urge...right, she just missed touching somebody. Granted, Quinn was never a really touchy person but damn, this was Gay Town right? They could be doing whatever they want for whatever fuck reason because this was Gay Town. Nobody knew them and they could stop all the pretentious and facade and just be.

_Right._

Then she started feeling angry. She needed to feel angry. Afterall, she had allowed herself not to feel for so long and now Rachel, that... Broadway wannabe (_damn_, she couldn't even call her names now!) had to make her feel so much.

As though on cue, Rachel stirred in her sleep and stretched lazily across the bed. So Quinn did the only thing she knew how to do.

She blamed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Rachel opened her eyes and was surprised to see Quinn looking at her like she was about to break. Then she smoothed her features to the same one she wore when she was walking down the hallway.

"Good morning."She greeted apprehensively and her brows knitted together as she tried to come out with a reason for Quinn's look. She turned her back against her and frowned.

Did she snore too loudly last night?

"You know, you almost made me call the _damn_ ambulance." She started, voice sounding as distance as ever. Rachel felt a slight guilt stirring in her stomach. Well, she couldn't help that she was sick...right? Should she apologize? Was that why Quinn was wearing..._that look_? Invisible hands tighten around her neck.

"...all because of that _god-damn_ burger." She continued. Rachel would be laughing if she wasn't hearing the cuts in Quinn's voice. Cause really, were they going to argue over the extra free burgers, in the expense of her pride, when Quinn was the one who first proposed the idea?

She shot up from her sleeping position and turned to Quinn, slightly glad that Quinn had a new found interest in the wall.

"Quinn, if my memory served me right, you were the one who proposed the idea."

"Well, I didn't say anything about extra burgers."She scoffed, eyes still focused on the wall. Rachel eyes darted to the wall and frowned.

"Well, you wasn't complaining when you were eating them and licking your fingers clean."

Quinn blushed at her words. "I wasn't expecting something as drastic as that to happen. I almost called the ambulance because you couldn't...resist getting the free burgers!"

Rachel folded her arms. "This is getting absurd. I mean, arguing over burgers? Seriously?"

"You almost made me call the _freaking_ ambulance Rachel!" She turned around, finally, yet looking anywhere but at Rachel.

"Well, you could just let me lay here and die. You had a choice." Rachel flipped her hair over her shoulders, frustrated with where this conversation was going. Couldn't they just have one peaceful day without silly arguments like this?

"Yes, and get the blame for killing you." Her eyes flickered to Rachel for a split second. Rachel felt herself blushing against her will with the memory from last night, because what she was hearing instead was, _that was not an option._

The way Quinn touched her...although not in an inappropriate way, it felt so intimate. Her heart contracted so hard that she had to take in a deep breath to ease the discomfort.

"And I had to freaking piggyback you!" Quinn seemed determine to continue with his argument, however ridiculous it was.

"I gave you a choice to let me down, Quinn."Rachel reasoned, suddenly feeling like Quinn was arguing just because.

Quinn ignored her as she stood up from the bed, her hands on her hips, pacing. "And...and you made me sing you a damn song. A damn freaking Disney song!"

Rachel frowned.

"And now we are broke. And we still have 5 more days here..."

"And...and..."

Rachel stood up from the bed and held on to Quinn's hand to stop her from pacing. Quinn stopped and blinked, surprised. Rachel's eyes flickered from left to right and back like she was literally reading a book. And then suddenly, the coin dropped.

_OH._

"Hey." A small smile crawling up her face.

For a moment, Quinn forgot what were they arguing about, neither did she have the ability to continue with the argument, not when Rachel was looking at her..._like that_. She swallowed a lump, faintly aware that Rachel's finger was now rubbing gently on a sore part on her collarbone.

"Sorry."She said and dropped her eyes to her finger. Quinn wondered if she was apologizing for being sick or for the bruise on her collarbone. Either way, she felt her ability to come out with anything concrete robbed away.

"Was it the time of the month?"She asked with slight embarrassment.

"What?"Quinn coughed out finally and then she laughed...and laughed, trying her best to laugh away the flip in her stomach, the quickening of her heartbeat and the uneasiness of how her body was reacting.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Rachel could feel the butterflies emerging inside her that she was almost sure that when she step onto the stage and start to sing, butterflies would fly out of her mouth instead. Stage fright, yes. Although she should be so used to performing by now, yet, was stage fright inborn or something? Cause it felt like a disease, clinging on to her. God, she's feeling nauseas now.

She tilted her head towards Quinn and they shared a glance.

Quinn gave a small encouraging smile and Rachel returned weakly. Then she heard the announcement. Rachel took a deep breath like she was about to take a deep dive.

This was it, their moment to break or make it.

Unconsciously, she turned to peep at Quinn. A smile crept up her face.

Yea, she would make her proud.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Rachel appeared from the side of the stage, alone. And when the music play and the notes struck, she sang.

_In the midst of this nothing, this miss of a life_

_Still there's this wanting just to see you go by _

_It's almost like lovin', sad as that is_

_May not be cool, but it's so where I live_

Rachel sang and the fear which she was experiencing moments ago dissolved into thin air. She loved performing and everytime she performed just strengthened her love for it. She moved on the stage like a fish in the water. She knew the perfect expression to sync with the lyrics. She knew the perfect posture that should accompany the performance and most of all, she knew how to move on the stage to capture the audience.

_It's like I'm your lover or more like your ghost_

_I spend the day wondering what you do, where you go _

_I try and just kick it but what can I do_

_We've all got our junk, and my junk is you_

And then Quinn appeared and she was snapped out of her adrenaline state. She looked so gorgeous that she was almost sure that the audience had forgotten about her. For a moment, it didn't matter because she too, had forgotten about herself.

Then Quinn had to look directly into her eyes as she sang and all the breath which she was holding escaped her lips. The world around her disappeared and Quinn was the only one which spotlight was shone on. She watched as Quinn approached her, slowly and deliberately, a small, enchanting smile playing on her lips.

As fast as it started, Quinn broke their eye contact and moved to the other side of the stage as she sang.

_Well, you'll have to excuse me, I know it's so off _

_I love when you do stuff that's rude and so wrong_

Rachel watched as Quinn swayed to the music, her expression captivating. Quinn was a born performer. She may not have Rachel's voice but gosh, the way she moved. Rachel's eyes trailed to Quinn's butt and paused. She blushed and forced herself to look away. Damn, how wrong.

Quinn spun around and pointed to Rachel and Rachel was forced to lock eye with her again. Then slowly and weirdly seductive, she walked towards Rachel and Rachel felt herself tensed. A puzzled frown from Quinn pulled her back to reality and she tried to relax. She grinned and ignored the dryness in her mouth. She felt like a teenage boy.

_I ride on the rush of all the hopes, all the dreams_

_I may be neglecting the things I should do_

_We've all got our junk,_ _and my junk is you_

Quinn hugged her from behind as rehearsed and they swayed together to the music. She never thought she would fit so well in Quinn Fabray's arms. Like a good fitting sweater which she could wear at any occasion.

Without the reindeer, _of course_.

_See we still keep talkin' after you're gone_

_You still with me then feels so good in my arms_

_They say you go blind, maybe it's true_

_We've all got our junk, and my junk is you_

They spun out of each other's embrace, with hands still connected and both of them locked eyes with each other. The music started to slow down.

Was Quinn's eyes some kind of hole or something? Because everytime they locked eyes, Rachel felt herself falling into them.

_Oh, it's like we stop time, what can I do? _(Quinn)

Quinn took a step towards Rachel.

_We've all got our junk, and my junk is you_ (Rachel)

Rachel took a step forward. Her eyes darted out of Quinn's eyes and her eyes landed on her face instead. Quinn's face was so smooth and fair and her lips...

_My junk is you_ (Quinn)

_My junk is you (Rachel)_

They pulled each other closer and stepped into each other's personal space.

_You, you, you _(Both)

The crowd applauded and Rachel and Quinn broke apart.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Quinn draped her hand over Rachel and whispered to her ears. "Relax, we are going to win this thing." Rachel bit her lips, doubtful. "Do you think they noticed my slightly off pitch at the end?"She questioned and pouted. Quinn laughed. "They totally adore us Rach."

Quinn was almost 100% positive when she saw the crowd rose and awarded them with applause so loud that almost shook the whole mall. She even saw one of the judges wiping her tears away. They totally rule this thing. Perhaps Rachel was right, something different, like a Broadway musical, may be what they need to emerge as the victor.

Rachel's fingers slipped into Quinn's and pulled her closer. Her head tilted to look into that pair of hazel orbs. She beamed. "Other than the previous team, Team Buzzerbeat, I think we stand a pretty good chance." She agreed.

Although this was supposed to be a show and they had agreed to physical contact as long as it was appropriate, Quinn found herself enjoying this whole process a tad too much. The way Rachel would play with her fingers, they way the rigidness and tension dispersed as their body recognised each other and god, she loved the way Rachel smells!

"And now, last but not least, let's welcome the last team of the day. Give it up to... Team Bread and Butter!"

Quinn grimaced, so glad she picked the name Faberry instead.

As the performance proceeded, Quinn realized Rachel was playing with her fingers with nervous energy. She side-glanced Rachel and saw her biting her lips, a small frown on her lips. She looked away to stop herself from kiss- _getting distracting_ by those pouty lips. Her eyes dropped to Rachel's neck instead and instantly found herself salivating at how delicious her neck looked... her skin looked so soft and Rachel smelt so good. She inched herself closer and wanted to get more of her smell. Maybe she could discretely get a taste of that neck?

Her plan was disrupted when Rachel jumped and her shoulders hit her chin squarely. She winced in pain. Rachel was oblivious, however, as she turned to Quinn, a look of pure joy on her face.

"Quinn! We made it!"

Huh? Quinn blinked and allowed Rachel to drag her to the stage. She knitted her eyebrows, trying to figure the situation.

We made what?

It was only when the judge presented them cash and a good-hearted laugh that the situation began to make sense to her.

They had won the first round.

She turned to Rachel and found herself smiling at what she saw. Excited Rachel never fail to make her smile. She so wanted to cuddle that cute little thing.

Rachel childishly gave her a high-five which Quinn took the opportunity to interlock their fingers and pulled her to an embrace.

"We won Quinn! We did it!"Rachel chanted at her ears and Quinn caught on her excitement. They ended up jumping on stage, all the while still hugging each other.

They made it, Quinn and Rachel did!

"Look at them!" The host grinned and the crowd went awwww.

"Part of the reason we chose Team Faberry was because of the undeniable chemistry between them. When I say they can melt the iceberg, that's an understatement. We look forward to see this team in the next few rounds." The judge commented and the both of them broke apart, with their hands still intertwined. They blushed shyly.

Well, they were just good actors right?

Rachel and Quinn locked eyes and both found themselves lost into each other. For a split second, nothing makes sense. Their hearts racing, their fingers fitting into each other's like lock and key and the intense need to taste each other's lips...

They averted their gaze.

Yup, they were just very good actors.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Things turned awkward however, when they proceeded back to their motel, suddenly aware of the changes between them. What was scary though, was how comfortable they were with touching each other and to make things worse, they found themselves hoping to proceed even further.

Which was why when their neighbour, Bella and Alice, guiltily offered them a carton of beer to apologise for their disturbance two nights ago, Rachel jumped to the opportunity.

Anything to ease the tension between them.

Quinn was unhappy though, especially when Rachel had just recovered from her food poisoning.

Rachel tipped the can of beer to her mouth. "This is my second time drinking!"She announced and lifted the beer can. "Cheeeeeers to beer! And Yay to team Faberry!" Quinn shook her head. Her head felt light and she was only into her first. Rachel was already halfway through her second. "Rach, you should seriously stop. I didn't save you for you to kill yourself."

Rachel stood up from her sitting position and ignored Quinn's request. She tipped the beer again. "It's so hot here."She said, tugging her shirt rapidly to create some wind.

"It's so hot in here." She grumbled again before she paused, a smirk on her face.

"So hot in, hot, oh!"

_I was like, good gracious, ass is bodacious_

_Flirtatious, trying to show faces_

She rocked her body to the lyrics and ran her hands through her hair to mess it up.

_I'm waiting for the right time to shoot my steez you know_

_Waiting for the right time to flash them ki's, then _

She threw her jacket to the bed and urged Quinn to join her. Quinn laughed to her beer, amused. This was her first time hearing Rachel rap and frankly, it wasn't too bad.

_I'm leaving, please believing, oh!_

_Me and the rest of my heathens_

_Check it, got it locked at the top of the Fo' Seasons_

Rachel beckoned to Quinn.

_Penthouse, roof top, birds I feeding_

_No deceiving, nothing up my sleeve and_

_No teasing I need you to_

She pulled Quinn up from her sitting position and grinded at her as she danced.

_Get up up on the dance floor_

_Give that man what he asking for_

_Cause I feel like busting loose_

_And I feel like touching you, uh uh_

Quinn swayed her body to the beat, one of her hand holding onto Rachel's waist. Both of them grinding onto each other as Rachel continued.

_And can't nobody stop the juice_

Quinn eased herself away from Rachel, which caused her to pout.

_So baby tell me what's the use? I said_

Quinn placed a kiss on her finger and pressed it lightly to Rachel's lips. A smirk on her face at Rachel's surprised look as she sang,

_I kissed a girl and I liked it,_

She watched while Rachel huffed out a laugh at the mashed up.

_The taste of her cherry chapstick _

Rachel fanned herself while she rapped, "So hot."

_I kissed a girl just to try it, (Rachel: So hot) I hope my boyfriend don't mind it_

_It felt so wrong, it felt so right, don't mean I'm in love tonight_

_I kissed a girl and I liked it, I liked it_

Quinn stopped, suddenly aware that their bodies were pressed up against each other. She swallowed her saliva and her throat muscles rippled as she continued to drown in Rachel's eyes. Her eyes dropped to Rachel's lips which she parted unconsciously. Alcohol beating in their veins and the sexual tension soared to the roof.

Quinn dipped her head slowly towards Rachel, giving her a chance to escape if she wanted. Rachel, however, made no intention to move. In fact, she was on her toes, impatient. Quinn's hand shifted to Rachel's waist and grabbed her closer. Rachel closed her eyes and she felt Quinn's breath on her face. Her heart quickened at their proximity. She felt Quinn's breathing getting heavier and she tipped her toes further.

All these were taking too long for her.

They were so close and Rachel could almost taste Quinn's breath.

Quinn's face was just inches away...

...and Rachel lost her balance and tripped over Quinn. They ended up falling onto the floor. Quinn rubbed her head in agony, her head spinning from the impact and alcohol.

"Quinnie! Are you ok?"She said, her heart skipped a beat at what almost happened. Quinn murmured something under her breath and sat up, her hand still rubbing her head furiously. Her face pink from the alcohol.

"I'm going to bed."She announced with a slight grumble and rolled herself onto the bed. Rachel pouted, surprised at how disappointed she felt. She watched as Quinn threw the blanket over her head and sighed softly. She dragged her feet towards the lights and switched it off.

"Night Quinnie."She said softly and climbed onto the bed beside her.

The air stood still and nobody moved for awhile. Silence fell like a heavy weight through a wet paper bag. Rachel was almost positive that Quinn was already asleep before she felt the blanket pulled off in a swift motion beside her. She turned, frowning.

Quinn surprised her when she hovered above her. The moonlight from the window shone onto her face and Rachel felt her heart beat quickened at that look.

Before she could open her mouth, Quinn's voice interrupted.

"What happens in Gay Town, stays in Gay Town right?" She asked, sounding more like a statement than a question. Rachel held on to her breath, trying to make sense of the direction which they were heading. But Quinn's proximity and the alcohol in her were making it hard.

She opened her mouth and before she knew it, she found herself exploded with the best tasting breath from Quinn's lips.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

**Thanks for all the kind comments! Please don't stop commenting. Pardon me for my mistakes.**

**Sorry for the wait!**

**Song:**

**Spring Awakening - My Junk **

**Katy Perry - I kissed a girl/ ****Nelly - Hot in here**


	7. Chapter 7

_Quinn pressed her lips against Rachel's and nobody moved for a moment. Rachel's head was spinning and her heart was pumping so hard that it felt surreal. Quinn's proximity made any kind of thinking impossible. She stilled herself and held her breath, waiting for the bomb to drop._

_Then she felt it. _

_It was brief and small. But she felt it. _

_Quinn's lips parted apprehensively against hers and soon, they were moving at a comfortable pace, tasting each other for the first time. Heartbeat synchronising with each other. Their kiss was not passionate neither was it awkward. The kiss was confusing at best and their lips moved because they didn't know if they should stop. _

_Then Rachel felt Quinn's tongue brushed against her lower lip and a shot of ecstasy surged straight into her core. Their kisses turned hungry and impatient. If the kiss moments ago felt like they were trying to figure things out, the kiss now was screaming, "Fuck it!" Rachel resisted a moan forming at the back of her throat._

_Quinn nibbled on Rachel lower lips and she broke apart. Her moan escaped her mouth and bored into Quinn's. She felt Quinn's smirk against her lips. Rachel's tongue skimmed over Quinn's lips and was immediately granted entrance._

_Then Rachel heard Quinn gasped when their tongue met and felt like she might just die. Their tongues moved with purpose, guided by their arousal and need for each other. Their kisses were now screaming "Fuck me!". Rachel felt Quinn's hand brushed against her bare torso and the arousal shot down even further. She whimpered into Quinn who moaned because of her whimper._

_Air was sooo overrated._

**Day 4:**

Quinn shifted slightly and felt a dead weight on her. She groaned and tried to push that weight off her before her sense of smell was attacked by a delicious scent. She salivated unconsciously. She peeped and realized Rachel was lying on her collarbone, her body facing away from her thus giving her the full access to her hair. She bit her lips, contemplating if she could just dive her head into her hair innocently.

Well, people who were asleep had no control over their actions right? Yea, she could pretend she was still asleep and...

She shifted herself closer to Rachel, her hand which was tucked under Rachel's body, pulled Rachel closer towards her. A sneaky grin crept up her face.

Perfect.

Rachel shifted in her sleep and tossed over to face Quinn. Her hand dropped across Quinn's stomach lazily and her breathe tickled Quinn's neck. Quinn's heart jump-start alive, as though electrocuted by ER paddles. She heard a loud and ringing "Clear!" inside her as the electrocuted effect repeated itself, synchronising perfectly with Rachel's breathing.

Quinn's body went rigid under Rachel's weight, not daring to move. After what seemed like forever, Rachel finally stirred from her sleep. Quinn closed her eyes in response, pretending to be asleep and trying to shut off the "Clear!" which sounded awfully like Rachel's voice.

Rachel rolled off and she prevented a frown from forming on her face. A split second later, she felt the same weight back onto her collarbone, snuggling closer to her. She fought against her will to stop smiling and the "Clear!" voice was back in full force.

Rachel was humming a song so softly that she couldn't make out the tune against her heartbeat. Then it got louder.

And it sounded alot like the song she sang last night.

Then realization dumped onto her like a bag of trash. _Holy shit._

They kissed.

Her tongue unconsciously gaze over her lips and they felt sore...a good kind of sore. She felt her stomach did a 360 degrees turn, back and front.

They bloody hell kissed.

She started to panic, trying to make sense of all that were changing between them. Was she just too much into her role?

Damn, it's just the alcohol.

Yeah...it had to be.

Then...why was she dying to feel those lips again?

She peeped and saw Rachel looking...no, blatantly staring at her. The panic in her mouth intensified itself. How should she react? Should she brush it off? Should she...

"I saw that." Rachel whispered and Quinn swallowed a lump of... fear?

She opened her eyes and found herself staring into Rachel chocolate-brown orbs. "Hi."She greeted shyly.

Quinn swallowed another lump.

"Hi."She whispered, hoping Rachel would stop staring at her.

"Last night..."She started and Quinn bit her tongue nervously. She tasted blood.

"...was good. The mashed-up." She continued and Quinn felt the panic slowly draining off her. "We should bring it up during Glee."She added and Quinn could only nod.

"...and the kiss was awesome..." The panic gushed back into Quinn again. "...I can now strike it off on my to-do list." She added with a small smile.

Quinn blinked with slight confusion.

"Erm..."Quinn coughed out. "What list?"

Rachel lifted herself away from Quinn, whose body protested against her will, and beamed. "Bucketlist. To kiss a girl once before I die."

Oh.

Quinn felt a punch in her stomach.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Although we were under the influence of alcohol and I can't really remember how it feels like, but it had to be awesome right? You're Quinn Fabray afterall."

Rachel lied. Lied through her teeth. Lied to herself. Lied to Quinn.

She remembered. She remembered how Quinn's tongue felt against her lips. She remembered how Quinn moaned when their tongues met.

Fair enough, item number 87 on her bucketlist was indeed to kiss a girl, there was no item on the list, however, which stated that she should want to kiss that same girl again...and again...and again.

And again.

But when she saw the panic in Quinn's eyes that shot straight to her stomach, she had to come out with something that gave them a way out. They had another 4 days together and things were bound to be awkward if this was not handled well.

Rachel shrugged. They were probably too into their roles. They would snap out of it once they were out of this Gay Town.

They had to snap out of it.

Rachel ignored the heavy rock in her chest and popped herself up from the bed, away from the source of warmth. She slipped her phone into her pocket. She had to look at some reminders of Finn. Her boyfriend, who she was so in love with...right? Guilt tasted like alcohol in her mouth.

She forced out a smile.

"See you later alligator."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Quinn and Rachel walked apart while a pink elephant stood proudly between them. They were once again back to shop for new clothes since they were slightly richer now and they desperately needed to change out of their "couple" set. After spending all their fortune on Rachel's medical bill, the winning of $300 came just in time.

"Er...I think we have to buy couple clothes again."Quinn shrugged. "...you know, just in case we lose the next two rounds and the extra cash will come in handy." Rachel nodded but did not comment, which was strange. And Quinn, for once, missed Rachel's ranting and rambling.

"Well, I'll just go over there to see if there is anything suitable for us." Quinn pointed awkwardly to her right.

Nodded again.

She sighed under her breath and dragged her feet away.

Rachel's eyes trailed behind Quinn's back for a second longer than needed. She felt a heavy stone settling inside her and the more she wanted to push aside the panic look on Quinn's face, it fought back stronger.

Her hand caressed through the row of clothes without even looking at them, her head deep in thoughts.

"...help?" Rachel was snapped out of her state and was taken aback when a gorgeous ginger-red head girl grinned. She blinked, trying to remember what she had just said.

Taking in Rachel's stunned expression, the girl chuckled. "I said, do you need any help?"She repeated, an amused smile lingering on her face. Gosh, she was definitely beautiful but not even close to Quinn's beauty. Well, it was alittle unfair to compare her to Quinn since Quinn was blonde while she's ginger-red and Quinn had ass that could kill while this girl...

Her eyes trailed to her ass and nodded her head slightly.

Right, Quinn's definitely beat that ass. Then Rachel mentally face palmed herself and rolled her eyes. Why was she comparing them?

The girl mistaken the look on Rachel's face as permission though and she inched slightly towards her while Rachel was still deep in her thoughts.

"I can help you if you need any help...you know."She repeated herself, this time slower and with a hint of seduction. Her eyes sparkled as it roamed around Rachel's face, reading her.

Hazel eyes won the light brown eyes hands down.

Rachel shrugged, oblivious to the eye sexting the girl was doing. "I was just hoping to get some clothes, you know. Maybe you could help?" She replied, thinking that she could be a staff here although did not question why she was not in her uniform. Rachel's mind was too jumbled up with other thoughts.

"Hmmm..."The girl hummed approval as she appraised Rachel with interest. Her eyes stopped at her legs and she grinned.

"I think you will look gorgeous in shorts. Gosh...those legs can make anybody salivate." She whispered seductively. Rachel raised an eyebrow and blushed at the compliment, missing the sexual suggestion altogether.

This was the second time somebody actually complimented on her legs. She tucked her hair shyly behind her ears. She wondered if Quinn would like her to wear shorts too. She frowned, however, when she dropped her gaze to her legs. The idea of people salivating at her legs made her felt like some kind of food. Her frown deepened.

"You know, you should wear something sleeveless as well. Those arms..."Her fingers trailed up Rachel's arm slowly and deliberately. Rachel goose bumped at her touch. "Better still if it's something that is easy to remove." She added and took a step forward towards Rachel.

Rachel knew her arms were OK although she would like them slightly more define like Quinn's. She definitely understood the last bit about removing clothes easily. Afterall, who would want to get stuck in clothes when removing them right?

Thinking that she had gotten what she meant, she flashed her pearly-whites to the girl and saw the girl reciprocated her smile.

"Thank you, I think I know what you mean."She chirped and wetted her lips unconsciously. The girl's eyes lingered on Rachel's lips and when she looked up, her light brown eyes had darkened noticeably. "Well, then you should know that clothes are so overrated..." She whispered and took another bold step towards Rachel. Rachel took a step backwards, feeling uncomfortable at how the girl was looking at her and how she was stepping into her personal space.

Then she felt a strong arm pulling her forcefully backwards and a tight embrace around her waist. She turned around and her heart skipped a beat at Quinn's touch. How she missed her touch, even though it was less than 3 hours ago since they had some kind of contact. Her face warmed at that thought.

Quinn's eyes, however, were burning with anger. She glared furiously at Rachel and then back to the girl who was taken aback at Quinn's sudden appearance.

She took a step away from them, puzzled.

"I would really appreciate if you could stop making moves on my girlfriend." Quinn spited and pulled Rachel closer towards her.

Wait, what? Making moves?

Hmmm... Girlfriend? She blushed.

"Quinn..."She murmured timidly and tugged her shirt. Quinn darted her eyes towards Rachel and she frowned. "She wasn't..."But before she could even finished her sentence, the girl interrupted.

"Well, it seems like your girlfriend enjoyed my company more than yours."She snapped and folded her arms across her chest, smirking.

Rachel felt Quinn tensed against her but she was getting way confused.

What the hell was going on?

"That's not for you to judge."Quinn scoffed through clenched teeth, her grip tightened around Rachel.

The girl flashed a triumphant smile at Quinn's poor comeback. She shook her head in a deliberate motion.

"Damn, I was so right." Her eyes fell on Rachel, who was still confused about the situation. "Babe, wanna go right now?"She asked, a small smile on her face. Before Rachel could answer, Quinn placed herself between her and the girl. She squared her shoulders, her hand holding on to Rachel's tightly.

"Back off."She warned dangerously.

The girl smirked but took a step back. She lifted her hands in surrender. "Had fun while it lasted."She laughed and her eyes darted to Rachel's. "Call me when you're bored of this blondie."She added and wriggled her eyebrows before she walked away.

Quinn felt anger boiling inside her. She tried to regulate her breathing but had failed completely. She felt a small tug behind her and she spun around, taking in Rachel's fearful eyes.

"Quinn..."She started. She let go of Rachel's hand and closed her eyes. Then she took three steps away from her.

"God Rachel, why are you so dumb."She exclaimed.

"Quinn, I didn't know I swear! I don't get picked up by anyone!" Rachel explained and reached out to Quinn. Quinn swatted her hand away and she felt a sore at her chest.

"You like that kind of attention don't you."She spited and Rachel felt anger and pain rising inside her.

"Quinn Fabray, are you saying what I think you're saying?"Rachel's hands moved to her hips, hurt evident on her face.

"Depends on what you think I'm saying."Quinn rebuted, hands on her hips as well.

"Quinn Fabray."

"Rachel Berry."

And they engaged in a stare-off session. Rachel's eyes watered but she refused to blink before Quinn. But Quinn's eyes had yet to water and she had a feeling that years of glaring gave her an edge in this game. Finally, she spun around when she felt that her eyes could not take anymore and stormed away from Quinn.

"Thanks for the trust!"She exclaimed with her back facing Quinn.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Quinn had been going round the shopping mall yet still had not spotted Rachel. Her legs were sore.

Things had gotten pretty intense lately. From the performance, to the kiss to the face-off an hour ago, Quinn felt herself losing control once again. She lost control when she had Beth and now she's losing control when she was with Rachel. It's driving her crazy.

She tapped her fingers impatiently against her thigh and her eyes scanned through the crowd. It did not help that Rachel was the only one with the phone and she was so tiny and short that spotting her would need Quinn to use some of her calves' muscles and ninja skills.

When panic began to sink to the bottom of her pit, an announcement blasted over the speakers.

"Ladies and gentleman, may we have your attention please. A teenage girl by the name of Rachel..."

"Rachel Berry, if you may."She heard a softer voice at the background which no doubt belonged to Rachel...her Rachel Berry. Quinn bit her lips to stop a smile from forming on her face.

"...Rachel Larry..."The announcer continued but was interrupted again.

"Rachel Berry! You know, like strawberry. Oh god, give it to me." There was the sound of shuffling before Rachel's voice appeared through the speaker.

"Ladies and gentleman….Hi." She paused. Quinn could almost see her expression and could not resist a smile lurking on her face. "I'm Rachel Berry and I'm looking for Quinn Fillet. _*Cleared throat*_ Yes, FILLET-O-QUINN, that's for being irritating and annoying. And..."Then Rachel took a deep breath. " I've decided to forgive you although I'm still waiting for your official written apology. Till then, I'm calling you Fillet-O-Quinn. Meet me at the customer service counter and we can discuss what to write in that apology letter. _*Cleared throat*_ Anyway…" She continued with a sing-song tune which could only mean…"Since I'm already here, might as well entertain you shoppers with my rendition of Silent Night. I have to say I am quite...no, very good at the song and often bring tears to my audienc- WOOH! Quinn!"

Quinn scooped Rachel over her shoulders while she pounded annoyingly at her back. "Let me down Quinn Fillet!"Quinn rolled her eyes and nodded apologetically to the customer service personnel. "I'm sorry!"She mouthed and then she drew circles around her temples and pointed to Rachel and shrugged.

"Quinn Fabray, if you do not let me down this moment, I'm gonna-"Quinn dropped Rachel and when she regained her footing, she felt herself blushing at the way Quinn was looking at her. The anger in Quinn's eyes was replaced with...affection?

"Quinn Fillet huh." She said, the edge of her mouth twitching.

"Hmpf." She folded her arms across her chest, trying to be pissed at Quinn for taking away her opportunity to perform. Another chance to sing Silent Night was robbed away. She scowled.

But when Quinn draped her hand across her shoulders, her hand betrayed her and sought after Quinn's hand almost immediately. Her fingers delightfully intertwined with Quinn's. The apology letter was long forgotten.

_So much for loyalty, hand._

"Quinn Fillet."Quinn mumbled under her breath. "And I thought you're a vegan." She teased and shook her head while pulling Rachel closer to her.

Rachel felt the room spun alittle sideways at the way Quinn was holding on to her again.

Then a voice, which sounded strangely like hers, injected– _In that case, I would gladly sacrifice my vegan life just to have a taste of Quinn Fill-_

She shut her ears.

Because…she couldn't believe how wrong and… and_ WRONG_ that sounded.

Gosh, just too damn into her role.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"They are back!"One of the occupants announced and the rest averted their gaze to them. Quinn, whose arm was still over Rachel's shoulder and Rachel's fingers were still interlocked with hers, frowned in puzzled.

What was with all the excited looks?

The occupants applauded and some gave catcalls. "Congratulations!"One of them shouted from the corner of the lounge. Rachel recognised him as the guy who was making out when they first arrived.

"You guys were awesome!" Another shouted. Quinn and Rachel were overwhelmed by their cheers.

"Go Team Faberry!" Bella and Alice cheered and it was then things started to click into place.

They must have heard about their win somewhere. Gay Town, was afterall, not that big. Quinn and Rachel smiled shyly and returned the high-fives which were thrown to them. They giggled when Bella and Alice lifted a poster with the words "TEAM FABERRY ROCKS" glittered across it.

Damn, they were starting to fall in love with this Gay Town.

"What about a song Team Faberry?" A fair, light-brown haired guy, who was sitting beside Bella and Alice, requested and the crowd cheered in agreement. He whipped out his guitar and his partner, slightly beefier yet equally good looking took out his keyboard.

Turns out, Alice, Bella, guitarist Edward and keyboardist Jacob belonged to an aspiring band called the Twilight.

Quinn and Rachel shared a glance. The twinkle in Rachel's eyes seemed to have already made the decision for them.

Quinn nodded and the crowd cheered again. She whispered to Edward who nodded excitedly. He turned to his partner Jacob and wriggled an eyebrow. They grinned.

As the music filled the background, Quinn felt herself studying Rachel who was busy interacting with the other occupants. She bounced, excited for another chance to perform. As she watched, a sudden realization settled over her that so many things had happened between them throughout the years. From enemies, to somewhat friends to current complicated status, how much they both had changed, as an individual and as a pair. Looking at Rachel smiling so genuinely made her felt so much that didn't make sense. She felt an invisible hand squeezing her heart and her heart pumped wildly in defense.

She shouldn't feel this way.

Rachel's eyes roamed to Quinn's and felt herself boring to that hazel obs. Rachel felt her face warming and she dropped her gaze as the tension between them intensified. However, when she looked up, she found herself anchored to Quinn's hazel eyes again.

_(Rachel) Lyin' here with you so close to me_

_It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe_

_I'm caught up in this moment, caught up in your smile_

Quinn felt Rachel's gazes penetrating her and felt the urge to look away. Yet, as much as she wanted to, her eyes had this weird magnetic attraction for Rachel and instead of looking away, she felt herself lost in Rachel's eyes.

_(Quinn) I've never opened up to anyone_

_So hard to hold back _

_when I'm holding you in my arms_

Then their bodies had a mind of their own because the next moment, they were standing infront of each other, their eyes never leaving each other. It felt penetrating and weirdly intimate. The scene of their kiss the previous night repeated itself like a broken recorder and both couldn't resist a blush forming on their face.

_(Quinn and Rachel) We don't need to rush this, let's just take it slow_

The crowd began to snap their fingers to the beat, oblivious to their interactions. The Twilight started humming in the background. Damn, they sounded real good.

But all Quinn and Rachel could see were each other. The lyrics were so closed to heart that it made the both of them cringed. Quinn felt a tug in her heart and watched as Rachel's expression morphed into something that she knew resembled hers.

_(Quinn and Rachel) Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight_

_Just a touch of the fire burning so bright_

_And I don't want to mess this thing up_

_No, I don't want to push too far_

_Just a shot in the dark that you just might_

_Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life_

_So baby, I'm alright with just a kiss goodnight_

Rachel took a deep breath, ignoring the nauseas feeling stirring inside her before she sang.

_(Rachel)I know that if we give this a little time_

_It'll only bring us closer to the love we wanna find_

_(Rachel) It's never felt so real, (Quinn and Rachel) no, it's never felt so right_

The raw emotions were evident in their voices and Rachel swallowed the intense need to tear for whatever reason. They sounded so good...yet so painful. The snapping continued and the crowd swayed to the music as the Twilight started humming in the background again.

_(Quinn and Rachel) Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight_

_Just a touch of the fire burning so bright_

_No, I don't want to mess this thing up_

_I don't want to push too far_

_Just a shot in the dark that you just might_

_Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life_

_So baby, I'm alright with just a kiss goodnight_

The background snapping stopped. Rachel's eyes holding on to Quinn's gaze as she sang, an indescribable look on her face. The atmosphere turned heavy as realization dawned upon them like gravity.

No, this won't last forver.

_(Rachel) No, I don't want to say goodnight_

_(Quinn) I know it's time to leave_

_(Quinn and Rachel) But you'll be in my dreams_

_(Quinn and Rachel) Tonight, tonight, tonight_

Quinn felt a punch in her stomach and the urge to coil into a ball overwhelmed her. Rachel's breathing was noticeably faster and her hands were balled into a fist. Both wanted desperately to look away yet nobody made the move.

Because ...what would happen to the other who was left behind?

The crowd finally caught up with the weird tension between them and raised their brows in confusion. The crowd darted their eyes from Rachel to Quinn and back. Sensing the change, the Twilight stood up and took over the chorus.

It was oddly reflective and therapeutic to hear those words from a third party. The words unfolded like a scroll and they absorbed the words that were thrown to their faces. Quinn tried to keep her face straight but failed miserably when she saw Rachel's eyes clouded with unshed tears. Then she swallowed a lump and gave her a small grin as she mouthed the lyrics to her.

_(Twilight) _Oh, let's do this right with just a kiss goodnight__

She saw Rachel's lip twitched upwards and her heart missed a beat. Her head felt dizzy. Since when did Rachel have such an effect on her?

_(Twilight) With a kiss goodnight, kiss goodnight_

They held on to their gaze longer than needed, oblivious to the crowd who were now observing them and whispering under their breath.

An intense moment passed.

Then Dude shook his Christmas bell noisily and all of them jumped at the sudden loud distraction. Quinn and Rachel broke apart, mildly taken aback that they were at the lounge with the other occupants.

"Gosh Dude, what was that for?"Jacob frowned, still clenching to his heart at that shock.

Dude shrugged lazily and he went back to his computer. "Sorry, my gaydar fuse just exploded." He called behind the desk and Rachel and Quinn's faces burned with embarrassment.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Song:

Just a kiss - Lady Antebellum

Appreciate all comments. Sorry for the mistakes. But I'm really busy now. I'll still amend them when I have the time.

PS: Sorry for the spam. Uploaded the wrong file.


	8. Chapter 8

**Day 4:**

Rachel rested her head on Quinn's shoulders. The only source of light was flickering from the television and it was making her eyes tired. She snuggled closer to Quinn, her hand dipped into the popcorn. Quinn's hand was innocently around Rachel's waist, her head leaning against hers.

_**Jamie**__: Please don't pretend like you know me, ok?  
><em>_**Landon**__: But I do, I do. We've had all the same classes in the same school since kindergarten. Why you're Jamie Sullivan. You sit at lunch table 7. Which isn't exactly the reject table, but is definitely in self exile territory. You have exactly one sweater. You like to look at your feet when you walk. Oh, oh, and yeah, for fun, you like to tutor on weekends and hang out with the cool kids from "Stars and Planets." Now how does that sound?_

"Bloody hell. He was fucking stalking her."They heard Jacob whispered. Rachel blushed. This scene was strangely familiar as her mind wandered a few days back.

_"Look, you looked amazing in jeans and a good fitting shirt. Like the time when we were performing Empire State of Mind. Or better yet, those sinful looking shorts or skirts to short off your legs. You do not need this awful argyle sweater or that nun-like knee-length skirt!" Quinn huffed out, oblivious that she had just indirectly complimented Rachel. Rachel widened her eyes in surprised. Had Quinn been observing her? She almost laughed out loud at how absurd that thought was. But when Quinn continued, she was almost certain she was._

_"And seriously, stop wearing colours that are maroon or yellow or whatever. You looked wayyyyyyy better in white or blue or black. Something classy yet not too over the top. And for the sake of Christ, stop wearing anything argyle! God." Quinn ran her hand through her hair in frustration._

She bit her lips to swallow a chuckle and her body shook with amusement. She felt the weight on her head lifted and could almost imagine Quinn's perfectly perked eyebrow. A few seconds later, the weight was back on. As the show played on, Rachel felt Quinn's caressing her gently and it made her heart flutter. She dropped her hand to meet Quinn's and their hands intertwined together instinctively. It came so naturally that neither questioned the need for their actions.

_**Jamie**__: You don't know the first thing about being someone's friend.  
><em>_**Landon**__: I don't want to just be your friend.  
><em>_**Jamie**__: You don't know what you want.  
><em>_**Landon**__: Neither do you. Maybe you're just too scared that someone might actually want to be with you.  
><em>_**Jamie**__: And why would that scare me?  
><em>_**Landon**__: Because then you wouldn't be able to hide behind your books, or your frickin' telescope, or your faith. No, no, you know the real reason why you're scared? It's cause you wanna be with me too._

Quinn felt her breath hitched and an awful tug in her heart. The words sting her for whatever reason. Rachel's hand was on her thigh, her eyes glued to the television, oblivious. Quinn took cautious breath, trying not to alarm Rachel although she was wreck inside her. There were thousands of thoughts gushing inside her, so tangled that she couldn't decipher. Instead, she focused on Rachel's random touches on her thigh. She felt a swell of emotion which was unfamiliar.

She tucked that behind her mind and shut the door.

_**Jamie**__: I'm sick.  
><em>_**Landon**__: I'll take you home. You'll be be...  
><em>_**Jamie**__: No. Landon! I'm sick. I have Leukemia.  
><em>_**Landon**__: No. You're 18. You - you're perfect.  
><em>_**Jamie**__: No. I found out two years ago and I've stopped responding to treatments.  
><em>_**Landon**__: So why didn't you tell me?  
><em>_**Jamie**__: The doctor said I should go on and live life normally as best I could. I - I didn't want anybody to be weird around me.  
><em>_**Landon**__: Including me?  
><em>_**Jamie**__: Especially you!  
>[<em>_Jamie looks down__]  
><em>_**Jamie**__: [__Landon gets upset__]  
><em>_**Jamie**__: Ya know, I was getting along with everything fine. I accepted it, and then you happened! I do not need a reason to be angry with God._

There was soft sniffing everywhere. Rachel felt Quinn's body tensed and stopped breathing altogether. She could feel her heartbeat quickened and she tilted her head to see Quinn's eyes shimmering with tears. Rachel lifted her head from Quinn's shoulders and they ended up locking eyes. There was vulnerability in her eyes which she tried to hide it by breaking the contact. But Rachel held on to her face and brushed the fallen tears away. She gave her a small grin.

The words, which sounded pretty much like her voice, ringing beside Quinn's ears: _I do not need **another** reason to be angry with God._

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

_**Jamie**__: You're acting like a crazy person, what's going on?  
><em>_**Landon**__: Right now, you're straddling the state line.  
><em>_**Jamie**__: OK...  
><em>_**Landon**__: You're in two places at once._

Small murmured of "Awwws" and a fairly loud "So sweet" from Alice erupted. Quinn could feel Rachel's smile against her shoulders. "I would love to cuddle and watch the sunrise with the one I love." She murmured and Quinn made a mental note to file that information aside. Friends do that all the time, right? "But Finn said it was stupid to wake up at 5am and-"She stopped abruptly.

Quinn felt a punch in her stomach and her chest constricted at the same time. They tensed at Rachel's words and all movement was halted, waiting for the ball to drop. The atmosphere thickened with the unspoken realization.

Moments passed before Quinn whispered softly. "I just wish that one day Rachel Berry would just give me one of her solos." She felt Rachel's body relaxed and a slight slap on her thigh. "Never." She said and her hand resumed with the random caressing.

"Never say never." Quinn replied lightly and they chuckled, so that they wouldn't cry.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

This was Rachel's third time watching the show but it never failed to make her feel hopeful in love again. She could feel Quinn tilted her head to smell her hair and she tried hard not to smile at that gesture. She liked Quinn's touches and closeness... the way her body melted to hers and the way-

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a vibration in her pocket. Rachel frowned, almost forgotten she had her phone with her since she hardly used it for this trip. Her head moved away from Quinn (who gave a small groan in protect and made Rachel's heart skipped a beat) and pulled out her phone.

Her heart was caught in her throat. She blinked and quickly dropped her phone before Quinn could get a glimpse. She turned to her with a slight shrug, hoping to put her excellent acting skills to use.

"My Dad's calling."She avoided all eye-contacts with Quinn and excused herself from the lobby. Rachel almost succeeded, if not for the rigid body language and the guilty look on her face. Quinn felt an absolute pain in her chest and a massive ball of jealousy inside her, assuming her guess was right. But most of all, she felt cold without her warmth.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Once she was sure she was out of ear-shot, Rachel slowly dragged her fingers to the accept button, an intense sense of guilt and dread drowning her as Finn.s name and their picture flashing furiously like a warning alarm.

She took a deep dive."Hello?" Her voice was soft and it quivered lightly. Thank god Finn was never somebody to notice.

"Rachel." Finn breathed out with so much affection that it made her cringed. Where was all the damn guilt coming from?

"Hey."

She could hear Finn shuffled his weight awkwardly between his feet. When was the last time they had spoken? 3 days ago. When had things changed so abruptly?

"I've missed you." Rachel closed her eyes and willed herself not to break down and apologize profusely for...whatever. God, how does one manage this unexplained guilt? She knew Finn was waiting for her to drop the same line.

"I've missed you too." She whispered. She had, honestly... kinda. She heard Finn sighed with relief.

"Sorry that I didn't call earlier. Our schedule was packed with all the sight seeing and..."His voice turned into a muffled as Rachel's thought drifted to Quinn. A cube of ice slipped down her throat and landed squarely into her stomach.

"... And we were at Times Square and I...I've thought of you. Our plan to spend Christmas in new York together." All she wanted to do was to tuck away all guilt as Finn continued talking. Once upon a time she was a girl who would worship the floor he walked on.

What happened to that girl?

"Rachel are you ok? You're quiet today." Finn asked with concern. Rachel cleared her throat to mask the burning guilt.

"Just feeling under the weather."

Finn paused. "Was it raining there?"

Rachel sighed inwardly. "No Finn. I mean I'm not feeling well."

Rachel could almost see the bulb lighted up in Finn's head and his mouth dropped to an 'O'.

"You okay baby?" And Rachel cringed. She refused to put much thoughts into her reflex reaction.

"Yea, just food poisoning. Better now." She heard Finn heaved a relief and the guilt in her intensified.

"Okay. I think you better rest well. We are er...now on our way back to our hotel and the rest said Hi to you two. And...er..." He dropped his voice. "Is Quinn ok?"

Rachel panicked at the mentioned of Quinn. She swallowed a lump, her heart racing in her. "Yea of course." Another lumped was swallowed. "Why?"

"Oh okay. Something happened during the trip and she may not like it." He whispered again."Anyway, i gotta go." His voice was back to normal and for once, Rachel didn't probed. Because she had a feeling that Finn may not like what happened between them as well.

But what exactly happened between them?

"Love you Rachel.

"Love you too Finn."

"See you in 4 days."He said casually and the line was cut.

Rachel stood dead at the corridor, overwhelmed by the stab of reality forced upon her. The timer started its countdown.

Just 4 more days.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

When Rachel was back, the show has already ended and the lights were back on.

"I'm going for White Chicks, sorry Bell." Edward raised his hand as he leaned against his partner. Bella's hand was across her chest in slight displease. Alice grinned. "What about you, Dean?"

Dean yawned and shook his head tiredly. "I'm dead tired man, I'm going to bed. Count us out." He gave a loud yawn again before leaving with Castiel.

The guilty look was still on Rachel's face when she settled herself between Quinn's legs and melted into her. Quinn didn't realize how much she had missed her. Her smell, her warmth, her heartbeat... She drew her legs up and Rachel placed her left hand lazily on it.

Quinn started played with Rachel fingers, contented to just stay there with Rachel and just go along with whatever which was playing. She doubted she would be watching much...not when Rachel was so close to her.

"Rachel?" Quinn's eyes snapped up as she heard the name and found 6 pair of eyes staring at them. Rachel cleared her throat and straightened her back. This posture only meant... Quinn scrunched her nose in expectation.

"I hope you guys would allow me to express my utter most displeased that my valuable opinion on this critical matter was not considered when the nominations were made. It is essential for the right choice of show to have the right mixture of different stimulations and yet still managed to remain light-hearted. Therefore, the show should include humour, love, songs, dancing and, may I add, education as well. White chicks or Harry potter certainly does not fit in the stringent criteria and does not add any valuable entertainment or essential education to the next 3 hours of our precious, short-lived life. So instead of focusing on our own needs and desire, let us take a moment and consider the implications of our choice made at this very moment."

Quinn stifled a laugh as she took in the other's expressions. Alice's face was comical, her jaws was almost hitting the floor. Bella's eyes widened in disbelief, her face crumbled like she was tasting something bitter.

"The fuck?" She heard Jacob murmured and Quinn's body was shaking with laughter. Rachel slapped Quinn's thigh in annoyance and cleared her throat again.

"So in my humble but very vital opinion, I strongly believe and feel that we should immerse and dedicate our next 3 hours of life to the musical, Sound of Music. It is educating and stimulating to young adults..."Her eyes roamed to Shane. "...or not so young adults. And most importantly, it's a timeless classic that will never die out, unlike all of the other mentioned shows. And may I add-" Alice held up her hand and Rachel paused, slightly unhappy to be interrupted in the middle of her speech. The room was finally quiet.

"Can somebody just bring that god-damn Sound of Music?"

As the lights turned off and the only source of light was back to the flickering of the television, Rachel melted back into Quinn's body, her head leaning against the wall beside Quinn's head. Quinn tilted her head slightly and saw Rachel engrossed in, what must be the hundredth time she was watching the show. She squeaked in anticipation and hummed along with the songs. Quinn closed her eyes and heard their heartbeat synchronising into a singular pulse. The scene from the previous show playing as the soft beating of their heartbeats faded into the background.

_**Jamie**__: How can you see places like this... and have moments like this and not believe?  
><em>_**Landon**__: You're lucky to be so sure.  
><em>_**Jamie**__: It's like the wind. I can't... see it, but I feel it._

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Movie - A walk to remember

Appreciate the comments!


	9. Chapter 9

Day 5

Rachel felt nauseas. The guilt in her stomach churning was making her sick. Her palm was starting to sweat and she's feeling like a kid who was about to steal the last cookie in the jar. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart but it was not working. Quinn was shadowing beside her, with no intention to make any contact. She wondered if the slight tug in her heart was normal. She wondered if the intense need to touch Quinn was normal. She wondered if feeling empty was normal.

She wondered if Quinn was feeling that way too.

The conversation with Finn the previous night was making her re-examine her current situation with Quinn. She had no idea how things were so complicated right now…or maybe, she was being complicated? She bit her lips.

Was she?

The acute ache in her heart made her stop breathing altogether. Was she physically pain or mentally? She couldn't differentiate between the two. It felt like somebody just stabbed her a dagger of brutal truth and reality. Can she even feel physical pain even when all these were happening in her mind? She didn't know what to think. In fact, she couldn't think. Because she was so overwhelmed with the pain that it robbed off her ability to think.

Wait, was she even breathing? She wanted to laugh because it was ridiculous. But she couldn't. Her head felt dizzy and she was beginning to think that maybe it really was physical until the pain in her heart dissolved into a fuzzy warm.

It felt like the first sip of hot chocolate in winter. It slowly spread throughout her body and made her body tingle with intense joy. She closed her eyes so that she could be fully immersed in this feeling. It was such a huge contrast that she felt tears stinging her eyes.

Quinn had draped her hand over her shoulders the way she had grown to love and her hand sought after Quinn's like reflex reaction. When she looked up, she was greeted by a pair of warm hazel eyes that was responsible for the flip in her stomach.

And for a weird moment, she felt complete.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Hi Ladies and Gentleman, Welcome to Round 2." The organiser greeted and a small squeak escaped Rachel's lips. "We started off with 16 groups two days ago. And now we are down to 8. After today, only 4 groups will survive and move on to the 3rd round tomorrow. This year's competition is very intense – In terms of challenges for each round, team's calibre and judging criteria." He paused and Quinn could hear Rachel's breathing laboured. Quinn, on the other hand, totally stopped breathing. "I'm sure all of you are excited and curious about the task on hand for Round 2. Before I start..." The guy snapped his fingers and his assistants scrambled to pass sheets of paper to them.

Quinn's world basically screeched to a halt. The ice cube in her stomach melted sickeningly in her stomach as intensive hazel eyes bored into the words – A Cake-like story. Rachel and Quinn shared a glance, horrified expression mirroring each other's.

"The task for round 2 was to bake a cake to illustrate your story. All groups will be given 2 hours of baking time and 10 minutes of presentation. Good lucks and all the best." And as dramatic as it could it, the doors behind the organizer flipped open at that exact moment and Quinn and Rachel couldn't be more intimidated. The sparkle of the metal pans and bowls were piercing to their eyes.

They felt like they were competing in Iron Chef instead.

"Do you bake?" Quinn whispered.

"Only vegan cookies."

A little cold reality that made her stomach flip. Great, they had absolutely no idea on how to bake a damn cake and they had to give birth to one by the end of the day. Quinn suddenly felt like agreeing to join the competition was a bad decision. She hated losing and she hated not knowing.

With a soft sigh, she took Rachel's hand into hers and she felt Rachel's grip tightened and her thumb dragged firmly over her palm. A small shiver travelled down her spine. When their eyes were locked, a small amused smile practically took Quinn's breath away.

Then, questions started running through her head like a bullet train.

Why was Rachel giving her _that look_ that Tina often gave to Mike?

What was this weird feeling in her stomach?

But most importantly, why was her body reacting like it wasn't hers?

"What?" Quinn perked an eyebrow, feeling defensive. The need to build up her defense was tremendous.

Rachel raised her eyebrows the way Quinn always does and looked away with a small smirk.

Quinn took in a few laboured breaths, trying to distract herself from the way her heart was beating faster just because of that stupid smirk and her stupid trademark eyebrows-raising on Rachel. She dropped her hand before she could get too comfortable and pressed her hand to her waist.

A moment of silence slide pass them.

"Well, I think…I think we could just imitate the couple beside us... for this round."Quinn suggested. A small frown appeared on Rachel's gorgeous face as she tucked her lower lips under her teeth. Quinn found herself staring at her shiny, white teeth as they nipped and tear at plump, pink flesh.

"Isn't that cheating?" She said, lowering her voice.

Quinn blinked, missing her question altogether. She paused, boring into the chocolate brown-eyes who was waiting for her. She cleared her throat, stalling time while trying hard to recall Rachel's question.

"And you had a better suggestion?" She let go a breath she didn't knew she was holding when she saw Rachel pouted. Yeah, she still had the magical intuition of saying the right thing at the right time although she had no idea where the was the conversation leading to. Something which she had picked up after dating the boys.

"Fine, we don't have to win this round anyway, just maintain our lead is good enough."She puffed out, a cute pout was still on her face. Quinn found herself staring at her lips and they looked so soft and...She shook her head.

She felt so off today.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Things looked like it could actually worked out, especially when Rachel's dough turned out looking decent. Except, it wasn't because Rachel was now looking at Quinn like she had just said a bad word.

"Eggs?" She exclaimed and Quinn had to hush her down. "Quinn, do you have any idea what kind of condition these chicken live in to produce them?" She continued and Quinn scowled in frustrated when Rachel got louder instead.

"Rachel, cakes have eggs in them." Quinn enunciated with a tight, annoyed voice.

"Not in mine!" She whispered harshly and turned to Quinn with anger scribbling over her face. Quinn rolled her eyes at how drama Rachel could be. Why does Rachel just have to be different from the rest? Her scowl deepened.

She could feel the frustration was balling inside her and the urge to snap intensified. She turned around, words of insults was at the tip of her tongue before something else caught her attention.

The annoyance and frustration quickly morphed into amusement. She bit her lips to resist the urge to laugh. The flour stains on Rachel's cheeks reminded her of the time where Rachel was playing for the football team and painted her cheeks blue. But this time round, she looked like she was from a vegan tribal instead. Before she knew it, hands surged forward and gently brush against the stains. It was so innocent and intimate that it made Rachel's heart skipped a beat, especially when Quinn was looking at her like she was, dare she say, _adorable_.

She blinked, a shy blush crawling up her face at Quinn's gesture. Then Quinn paused at her action, like a sudden realization weighted upon her. The look in her eyes changed and her hands were down before Rachel could blink. "You looked ridiculous with the flour stains on your face." Quinn snapped weakly and shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. But the bashfulness lurking around the corners of her dark eyes said otherwise. Rachel scowled and turned away before swiftly turned back again, looking dead serious. "Did you just stain my face further?" Panic swimming in her enlarged brown eyes. Quinn could see her intense urge to wipe her face with her hands, which was unfortunately stained with flour.

The struggle on Rachel's face was comical and Quinn had to bite her lips from laughing out loud. Her hand draped across Rachel's shoulder and pulled her closer, previous slight awkwardness dissolved into thin air. She whispered teasingly, "I kinda like your new look better. A whole new meaning to make-up..." And before she could react, Rachel cupped her face with both hands causing Quinn to shut her eyes. Some of the flour managed to get into her nose and she coughed in irritation.

That was unexpected, knowing how hygiene conscious Rachel was.

But hygiene seemed to be the last thing in her mind as Rachel took a deliberate step back and admired her masterpiece.

"Definitely a whole new meaning to make-up." She agreed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

They ended up missing most of the steps. This left them with Plan B - go with the flow and hoped for the best. Thus, after skipping the eggs, adding lotsa sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and forgetting the baking powder altogether, their cake turned out looking like a mash of dry sponge.

"What the hell is that?"Quinn whispered in disbelief.

"A vegan faberry cake?"

"Are you using this...thing to represent our relationship?" Quinn murmured with offense.

"Oh my god, we were supposed to present a cake...not a ball of... God, I don't even have a word for it."

"Junk?"

Rachel nodded in agreement. "Yes, junkcake. We are so screwed."

"We will just need to come out with something else. We can't present this...junkcake."

"Quinn, we only have about 30 minutes left. Furthermore, we have absolutely no idea how to make a proper one. The next junkcake could be worse than this."

Silence engulfed them as the reality sank it.

They were definitely fucked up.

"Will we have sufficient time to make the cookies?"

Quinn heard Rachel took in a sharp gasp even before she looked up. She spun around in one swift motion, so fast that her hair was literally in the air while she speak. "Quinn, are you kidding me? They wanted a cake, not cookie!" Rachel exclaimed, her eyes widened in disbelief.

"We will first be penalized for being out of context. And then we will drop from the top of the chart faster than we can say "Glee". To top it up, we will be named as the couple-who-cannot-differentiate-a-cake-from-a-cookie."Panic sank to the bottom of her pit as she rambled, pacing up and down their working station with her hands on her hips.

"Rachel, calm down."

"There goes our reputation. And if we lose this, we can't get the money and then we are more screwed than screwed..." Rachel continued, ignoring Quinn totally.

Frustrated, Quinn grabbed her by her hand and cupped Rachel's face as she looked into the panic brown eyes.

"Hey..." She whispered and a small charming smile crept up her face. "Have faith." She continued and bumped their foreheads together while remaining eye contact. She watched as a string of emotions played in hers eyes. Quinn could feel the warm radiating from Rachel's face and it felt like it may be one of the best feelings in the world. Then she nodded and the smile on Quinn's face grew wider.

That moment, she never thought that Rachel's eyes could be any more stunning.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Rachel bit on her nails nervously as her eyes flickered to the clock for third time that minute. Other couples were hanging around, seemly relaxed. Rachel would be if she were them. She swore some of them were actually secret pastry chef!

When she felt like her panic was about to explode inside of her, Quinn draped her hand across her shoulders and suddenly, she felt grounded than ever in the last 20 minutes. Her hand sought for Quinn's and they intertwined the way they used to. Rachel's hand was on Quinn's hips and she tilted her head to lean against her shoulder. She didn't really know whether or not friends hugged each other the way she was clinging to Quinn. The sound of Quinn's heart slowly beating against her ears had a calming effect on her.

"Have I ever tried your vegan cookies?"

A small smile appeared on Rachel's face. "You did. Last year's Valentine's Day? The cookie which Sam baked was actually from me."

She felt Quinn lifting her head away from hers. "You're kidding."

But Rachel just snuggled closer towards her and closed her eyes. A contented sigh escaped her lips. "Sam needed help, so why not? You certainly looked like you need to eat more. With all the torture under Ms Sue Slyvester..."

Quinn's body shook as she chuckled and Rachel tried hard to remember this moment. Because listening to that while pressing her ears against her heart had to be one of the most unique experiences she ever had.

She never ever want to forget this moment.

"I only have Glee now."

"Our Glee."

"Our Glee." She agreed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

They would have laughed at the judges faces if they weren't nervous enough. Rachel was gripping Quinn's hand tightly and their palms were getting sweaty.

Certainly not a good sign.

"Well well, what do we have here..."A slightly bald man, Lionel, peeped up from his glass, a small frown on his face as he looked at their masterpiece. A cough of displeased escaped the lips of a middle age woman, Sandra, who was scribbling rapidly beside him. The last judge, Daniel, was the nicest of all as he tried to give them a smile. But even that was bad because he was smiling at them pitifully.

Quinn cleared her throat and squared his shoulders to look confident. Quinn Fabray intimidates and she refused to have it play the other way. "Hi, we're Team Faberry." Good, her voice sounded confident yet casual at the same time. "We are aware that the rule was supposed to bake a cake. But other than the fact that we suck at baking one..."

"Yeah, our cake turned out looking like a junk."Rachel injected and Quinn began to relax as he saw Sandra cracked a small smile.

"We also felt that this kind of mirrors our story." She watched as all three judges threw them curious looks and she paused for her words to sink in. "I was brought up in a family which I have a mould to follow. I was supposed to turn out to be the perfect cake, like my sister. With whipped cream and lacing and top up with strawberries and icing. That was how Fabrays are supposed to be. And I tried, my very best, to be a Fabray. I was taught that that's how you can achieve happiness, and I believe." She said and she dropped her gaze to the ground, feeling suffocated suddenly. Like the room was constricting and compressing into her. She was never comfortable in talking about herself but she felt like she needed to for this competition... and Rachel. All about the winning...right? She felt Rachel drawing random patterns on the back of her hand and she willed herself to continue.

"And then Rachel came along..." Rachel felt her heart rate picking up as she heard her name rolling off Quinn's tongue. A warm spread across her chest. She decided that hearing Quinn speaking about her to others would definitely be on the top of her "feels good" list.

"Bashing all my beliefs and thoughts about how somebody can be happy. I was resistant as first, I was dead on making her life living hell because...this was not the way to achieve happiness and I make sure she doesn't." She smirked shamefully. "Yet, the more I hit her, the harder she bounced back. She was intriguing. Rachel stood up for what she believes in and always readily offering help even when she knew she was not appreciated." She turned to Rachel. The brown eyes were staring at her like she was hanging onto her every word.

"How could anybody that small have such a big heart?" Quinn asked with intense eyes and so much sudden emotion that Rachel felt like she might fly, if Quinn wasn't holding on to her hand and anchoring her. Could Quinn Fabray be anymore charming?

"Rachel was the cookie, able to give alittle bit of herself to people who she loves. I'm the cake, you have to slice me to take a part of me." Quinn turned back to the judges and shrugged helplessly. "So while I've planned all my life to be a cake which I thought I would be happy being, Rachel came and flipped my beliefs upside down. And now...as we stood here infront of you judges, we know we probably would screw up this round. But if you're looking for something that best mirrors our story, I would say this is that best that we've got. The truest, purest dose of Faberry in the form of cookie. When life demanded you to be a cake, try being a cookie. Because as long as you are true to yourself, you can be a vegan cookie and still be happy."

The silence in the room was deafening. It was like the world literally stopped and everybody was hanging by the thread. Daniel and Sandra looked mildly convinced and may she say, mildly impressed. Lionel, however, was wearing a look which she couldn't decipher. Then, as though the world was waiting for this moment, Daniel picked up a cookie and gave them an encouraging smile. "You know what, this is the first time in 3 years after being a judge for this competition that I've got a cookie instead of a cake. Surprises, surprises..." He chuckled and took a big bite, which what Quinn would interpret as a dose of confidence in them. That didn't stop the both of them to hold on to their breath, however. They watched as he chewed slowly...before a huge smile spread across his face.

"Wow, they were great. And these are vegan?"

Quinn felt Rachel tensed in excitement and her words were out before Quinn could stop.

"Yes! They are. Despite common misconception that vegan food are disgusting, they are actually very delicious. Furthermore, I couldn't stress how much good it would be to the world if all of us were just vegan instead. Do you know that despite the common belief that drinking milk or eating eggs does not kill animals, commercially-raised dairy cows and egg-laying chickens, whether factory-farmed or "free range", are slaughtered when their production rates decline. The same factory farm methods that are used to produce most meats are also used to produce most milk and eggs. These cows and chickens live their short lives caged, drugged, mutilated, and deprived of their most basic freedoms. Also let me-" Quinn yanked their joined hands in slight annoyance and Rachel swallowed the rest of her speech.

The immediate silence that follows was awkward.

"Don't you just know when to shut up?"Quinn whispered in irritation. It felt exactly like they were back to their first day, infront of Dude. She almost had them and Rachel had to be such a word vomit. "Quinn, I thought you admire my strong beliefs and always readily to stand up for what I believe in!" Rachel whispered back, indigence evident in her voice. Quinn could contradict herself so much sometimes.

"Rachel, do you honestly think this is the best time to give a 2 minutes speech on veganism? Gosh, can your EQ be any lower?" Quinn huffed out an exasperated breath with a scowl on her face which just made Rachel pout. What happened to the charming Quinn Fabray just minutes ago? "Quinn, you don't choose the occasion to stand up for what you believe in. You just always stand up for what you believe in! It wasn't a 2 minutes speech by the way." Rachel said through gritted teeth which Quinn snorted. "And that wasn't enough? Are you going to start singing the veganism song?"

As the mumbling continued, Lionel pushed up his glasses and with cautious movement, took a piece of the cookie and placed it apprehensively into his mouth. And then a small surprised smile flashed on his face as he turned to his fellow judges.

"Those are really good."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

I apologized for the late update. I'm facing a serious writer block right now. For this chapter, I've rewrite it four times.

I know it's still alittle rough somewhere. But I'll amend it later again.

Sorry for the late update! Appreciate all comments.


	10. Chapter 10

The difference between a cookie and a cake is obvious.

A cookie is small and handy. You may not crave for it but when you see it, you will find yourself reaching out for it. It's crunchy and allows you to eat it mindlessly thus before you know it, you would have finish the whole bag. Yet you're still not satisfied and you feel like you needed more.

The cake, however, takes time to savour. The cravings come in such intensity that it's hard to ignore. Before you lift your fork, you take a few seconds to admire the masterpiece. Your eyes drift from the toppings, to the icing, before fixating on the cream. Your mind starts to run wild, anticipating the ecstasy once it's in your mouth. Then you comtemplete a second, wondering if you should ruin the beautiful art. But the fleeing thought come as fast as it disppear. Because that is not an option. The need to taste it is strong that all you could do is to think about it. And when you have finally taken your first bite, you let it melt on your tongue, taking time to feel the texture and the way the pleasure explodes in your mouth.

The second bite was still good, but the magic seems to have diminish. After the fifth mouth, the desire to have another bite decreases.

You may finish the cake, or you make not, either way, you will not want another slice because the goodness is no longer up to your expectation.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

_They didn't win, not even second. But weirdly, they felt like winners. _

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Friday nights happened to be games night.

"What? Go to Jail?" Rachel sulked at the space which her hat had landed upon. Quinn had to swallow her tongue from laughing out loud. Rachel's luck had been really on the down side throughout the whole game. She was down to her last $200 and only own a pathetic railway.

Quinn cleared her throat and rolled the dices. Her cat ended up beside Rachel's hat.

"Aww, isn't it sweet? Quinn's visiting Rachel." Alice's comment only made Rachel sulked further. She pouted and folded her arms and watched as Alice rolled her dices and ended up buying another land to build her hotel. She had already conquered 6 lands, own 3 houses and now a hotel. Marvelous. Life could be so unfair sometimes.

Her anger didn't last long, however, when Quinn reached out and intertwined their hands together. An action which she had grown to love these days. Then she whispered teasingly, "Shall I bring some vegan cookies when I visit you again?" Rachel suppressed the urge to smile because even though she's in the damn jail, if Quinn was visiting her with vegan cookies then...

Well...

She glazed at the hat and cat which were beside each other and the corner of her lips lifted up to a small grin.

_How adorable._

When Rachel was finally out of jail, she had missed two rounds. The glow in her eyes were back as she picked up the dices, determine to strike it big. Saying a silent prayer, she rolled the dices and they scrambled noisily onto the board.

9 points. She moved her hat, slightly excited until she realized she had ended up in New York Avenue…

Which happened to be Quinn's land with a damn hotel costing her…$300.

She's bankrupt.

And Monopoly was officially one of her hated game.

She scowled.

"Hmmm… what kind of girlfriend will I be if I were to take my girlfriend's cash for a night stay in my hotel?"

It was hard to ignore the skip of her heartbeat.

It was hard not to feel like she was about to die in sweetness.

And when their eyes met, something was wrapping around her heart, halting the world just for her to savour this moment.

Quinn was glowing with sparkles and Rachel felt herself leaning forward to plant a big fat kiss on her cheek just to have some of these sparkles on her lips. She watched as Quinn's face slowly morphed into 3 shades of red.

"Damn Quinn, is that how you managed to get whoever you wanted? I really should try learning some skills from you." Jacob jabbed Edward painfully on his ribs and he winched in pain. "Kidding!"

"You know, I wouldn't charge if I'm Quinn as well. I'll bet my ass on it that the both of them will ended up using the room for some other activities…" Castiel teased which made the crowd giggled. Quinn and Rachel's faces burnt even redder. "I wonder which spot would Rachel ended up this time…"Dean continued and the couple gave each other a high five.

The look on Quinn's and Rachel's faces were epic.

It didn't take long for Rachel to find her composure. with a brief glance to Quinn, she cleared her throat and straightened her back. "I think the game has officially come to an end since I, Rachel Berry, have no choice but to declare bankruptcy due to the inability to pay off my girlfriend's, Quinn Fabray, hotel bill. I hereby announce whoever with the most money as the winner. Yay!" She clapped with a big grin on her face.

"So Rachel is the mono-loser." Jacob added with a lazy grin and Rachel scowled again. Loser was too strong a word. She had failed, but not defeated!

"I'll be back Jacob, so watch your back."

The crowd gave out some catcalls and Jacob pretended to use Edward as his shield. "Protect me! I don't wanna be infected by the mono-loser!" Rachel pouted and glared at Jacob in annoyance.

The crowd giggled at their exchange.

Quinn draped her hand over Rachel's shoulders, weirdly protective and shrugged. "You know, if it's the two of us, we are kind of unbeatable in games." She commented lightly even when her heart was pounding furiously against her chest. Rachel melted herself into Quinn. Quinn smelt like lavender today. When she gazed up, the brown eyes ended up meeting the hazel eyes. The gaze lasted a second longer than intended and they broke away with a small grin.

We meant Quinn and Rachel. Which meant that they were in it together, a team. The two of them against the world.

"Really…?" Bella smirked. "We'll see if you guys are up for the next game…"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

I know it's short! But I didn't want you guys to wait too long.

Thanks for all the comments. It just made me want to update as soon as I can.


	11. Chapter 11

**Day 5**

"Really…?" Bella smirked. "We'll see if you guys are up for the next game…"

Rachel didn't like the look shared between Bella and Alice.

"Well, since Christmas is just around the corner, what about some Christmas love?" Alice grinned and Rachel didn't like that grin either. From the corner of her eyes, Rachel saw Jacob throwing Edward a look with a small frown on his face which Edward, in turn, chuckled and patted his boyfriend sympathetically.

"Game: Song Scramble- Since it's the Christmas season, let's have a Christmas theme. Rules: Dude will be coming up with random Christmas songs written on a paper. Letters of the song will be jumbled up so that you won't easily know what the song is. Each team needs to then unscramble the name of the Christmas Song and then begin singing it before any of the other teams. The first team to do this gets 1 point, if they sing the wrong song they get 0 "zero" points and other teams can still earn a point. "

Jacob groaned softly. "I knew it!" Rachel felt herself getting excited at the thought of _finally_ able to finish her rendition of Holy Night.

"And to make it even more exciting, Alice and I," They shared another look. "...think that we should throw in a grand prize for the winner- what about $200?"

Since when was there a discussion? Rachel perked her eyebrows in amusement and wondered if that _eye looking thing_ was a couple thing, like a couple facebook chat or something. She had seen it between Brittany and Santana, Alice and Bella, Edward and Jacob, hell, sometimes even her Dads do that. She tilted her head and saw a small frown playing on Quinn's face. When they locked eyes, the small frown turned into a pout before emerging into a confident grin. Rachel nodded her head and mirrored her grin. _Yeah, whatever it is, they're so gonna win._

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Halfway through the game, Rachel finally understood the slight reluctant vibes from Jacob. Alice and Bella (they called themselves Belice) were good. In fact, they were so good that they just took two points in a roll. Rachel and Quinn were equally good and were on par with Belice. Edward and Jacob had long lost the game. The competitiveness amongst them had heightened but remained friendly as they had reached the last and critical question.

Rachel pouted, deep in thoughts as her eyes were fixated on the words. Quinn was scribbling the word "Walking" and then suddenly she could see it.

"Walking in the winterwonder land!"She exclaimed when she had finally connected the dots and clapped excitedly. "Way to go Rachel! This is a historical moment where Team Belice is going to lose their first Song Scramble game in Twilight history. I'm so honoured to be able to witness this." Jacob commented mockingly and ended up with a cushion smacked right on his face.

Quinn gave her a high five and they intertwined their fingers. Quinn was looking at her with this shine in her eyes that for a moment she already felt like the winner. Hell, she could lose now and still feel like a winner with Quinn looking at her that way. Strangely, it made her shy, if the blush on her face was any indication.

"Alright lovebirds, enough with the celebratory eyes sexting. No points if the lyrics are wrong you know." Alice teased.

Rachel beamed. Like she would ever forget the lyrics to a song. She was extremely professional and was well-prepared for situations which she may need to pull a random song just because. For the record, she even gave herself mock song test and graded anything below 100 a fail. She was _that _professional.

_Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,_

_In the lane, snow is glistening_

_A beautiful sight,_

_We're happy tonight,_

_Walking in a winter wonderland._

There's something about Rachel unadulterated voice that sent shivers down Quinn's spine. The way her voice echoed inside her, spreading warmth to every single part of her body. She loved listening to Rachel sing...even though she would never admit it..._before_. But things had changed between them and the dynamics of their relationship was making her confused but mostly scared.

_In the meadow we can build a snowman,  
>Then pretend that he is Parson Brown<em>

Their eyes met and Quinn wondered when did Rachel start looking at her with this pure...affection? And why was it causing this funny sensation in her stomach. She popped right next to Quinn as her voice trailed off to the last note with perfect pitch and snuggled close to her. Quinn felt herself leaning toward her just to get a little more warmth and wondered when had that become a habit.

The sound of vibration interrupted them. Rachel felt Quinn's body tensed and resisted a frown. She pushed away the annoyance building up inside her. She could only think of one person who would be calling her right now and she wasn't too sure if it was okay to feel dreaded about it. Leaning towards Quinn, she took her hand and gave it a light squeeze but excusing herself.

As she exited the room, she threw an apologetic smile to Quinn, trying hard to contain her annoyance toward her boyfriend because…she shouldn't feel annoyed about it. With a soft sigh, she fished out her phone and paused. A small frown flashed across her face as the name of the caller blinked like a warning bell. The knot in her stomach twisted and a cube of ice slipped down and hit squarely in her stomach. She felt her breathing laboured and was suddenly attacked by a series of mixed feelings so tangled that she couldn't decipher.

She took in a sharp breath as her finger pressed reluctantly on the 'Accept' button.

"Hi Sam."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Quinn had gone for almost 30 minutes and she hated the awful punch in her stomach whenever her thoughts drifted to them (which was all the damn time since Quinn left her sight). She found herself tumbling the downward spiral, picturing them whispering sweet words and… Her breath hitched and she willed herself not to go that far. She couldn't go that far.

She let out a deep sigh. She sat on the side of Quinn's bed, her hands stroking the sheets which Quinn had slept on the day before. A small smile crept up her face at how serene Quinn must have looked when she was asleep. The slowing of her heartbeat and breathing into a steady pace sounds like a lullaby to her ears.

Quinn has the most amazing heartbeats in the world.

Her hand continued to stroke against the sheets, the tug in her heart turned full force. The memory of Quinn and herself flooded her like open gates and she lost herself in the bittersweet memory.

=Flashback=

She grinned to the receptionist. "We are…" She started and pointed awkwardly to Quinn and back to herself. She paused, searching for a more appropriate word.

"...together." Quinn breathed out. She still could not believe that she had agreed to this. This whole situation was getting absurd.

"As in…I'm her lady." Rachel emphasized and Quinn resisted the strong urge to stick her eyes at the back of eyelid. The fire burning her skin. The receptionist raised his eyebrow in cautious. His eyes were prying. Rachel swallowed her saliva in despair, feeling like his stares was going to penetrate their lies.

She laughed nervously and turned to Quinn, doing the only thing she knew how to do.

She sang.

"Cause I am your lady...And you are my man." She paused, realizing how wrong it sounded. "Cause I am your lady...And you are my woma-." Quinn nudged her painfully at her ribs and she shut her mouth instantly.

=Flashback=

She practically jumped from the bed when she heard the door opening. She found herself staring into a pair of hazel eyes which she had grown to love…except, they didn't look familiar at all. Yet her heart still race against her will at this girl infront of her who didn't feel like her Quinn.

Quinn turned around to close the door, breaking the eye contact. The atmosphere in the air turned stiffed and Rachel could sense something was very off. With eyes on Quinn's back, Rachel cleared her throat.

"So…how did it go?"

Quinn tensed for a moment before taking in a deep breath. She didn't respond and for a moment, Rachel thought she wasn't about to answer before her answer came out quiet, hard and bitter.

"Why..." She paused. Then she shook her head and averted her gaze to the floor. "Nothing important."

Quinn turned around and she watched as she shut down in seconds until a mask which completely looks like her but definitely wasn't her was put on. She thrust her chest out, trying to appear more confident than she actually was.

That's the Quinn from McKinley high. Not her Quinn.

"Quinn…?" She hated that her voice sounded small and weak. But mostly, she hated that she couldn't across the ocean between them when Quinn was upset about something but didn't know what exactly she was upset at.

"Damn it. I said it's nothing important Rachel, let it go."

Rachel was taken aback at the bitterness in her voice and punch in her stomach was unexpected. Rachel had been through worst from Quinn and this should seem like a piece of cake. But it wasn't. It felt equally painful and hurting. Rachel stood there as she bored into Quinn's eyes, pain and hurt swelling inside her like a balloon. Her chest constricted against the pressure and the need to breathe was overwhelming. She opened her mouth but there was no relieve.

She looked away as she rubbed her hands against her jeans (damn, why wouldn't her hands stop trembling). "It seems like you are upset right now, but I would appreciate if you would stop venting on me."

"Maybe you should just leave me alone." Her voice was so quiet and husky with emotion Rachel could barely recognized it as hers.

"Quinn, talk to me." She pleaded. But Quinn looked away and puffed out a bitter laugh.

The silence dragged and the atmosphere was thickened with mist of confusion and pain.

Then Rachel broke the silence.

"You know I've tried. God, how hard I've tried…but I couldn't." Rachel whispered. Her wide, brown eyes shimmered with hurt.

The tears overwhelmed Quinn and she crossed her arms over her stomach, exactly at the spot where it felt like she was punched. That was definitely not something she wanted to hear, not now.

"God Quinn, you're so confusing. Everything about you is confusing. Everytime I thought we're a step forward, we always ended up two steps backwards. It's frustrating. Don't shut me out, please." She pleaded, almost begging.

The intense moment dragged on longer.

"You know what, you want me to leave you alone? Fine. I don't care what happened between you and Sam. I don't fucking care why were you suddenly back to….to this Quinn. I don't care why you're hurting infront of me and I should fucking leave you alone. I don't care why I feel like we are miles apart when you're just across the room. You want me to leave you alone? Fine, I will." Rachel yelled in frustration, her shirt crumbled into a wrinkled mess in her fists. Whatever that Quinn was playing, she was so sick of it, so tired of it.

She watched as Quinn pressed her lips together.

"Don't act like you fucking care about me when all these were just pretence."

Rachel's entire body began to coil with tension. She bit her lips, feeling the weight of Quinn's accusation weighing her down. If Rachel could look like she was in more pain, she would be dying, literally. Quinn could almost feel the pain radiating from the small girl and her body tensed. But since she had started, she couldn't stop.

"You will be back to your little fairy tale with Frankenteen in just 3 days..."

"Don't call him that." She chided and wiped her tears hastily. Quinn ignored the way her heart winced.

"...and all these will just be forgotten. We weren't the best of friends, so don't start acting like you care."

Quinn's words stung so badly that she felt it imprinted on her skin. Her hand cupped over her heart, trying to gather it together. "You know that I care about you! With or without this!" Tears were now streaming down her face. She had no idea what triggered this conversation but it hurts, regardless. She didn't know how could Quinn lift her up to cloud nine and then drop her to reality just like that. She didn't even know she had that kind of effect on her that until now.

"I don't." Rachel didn't think that the honestly in Quinn's voice would hurt far worse than all her other accusations.

Rachel didn't know how long they stood there motionless, dwelling in their own pain. She didn't know when Quinn left the room. She didn't know how long she had been crying or when it had started raining.

She only knew that night, they couldn't be more apart than ever.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

When Quinn returned back the room, Rachel was already asleep. The soft snoring finally filled the silence had a calming effect on her and Quinn allowed herself to let go a breath which she was holding. She stood there awkwardly, dripping wet with rain, before heading into the toilet for a warm shower.

She liked the way the warm water hit her back and rolled down her skin. She liked the way hot mist filled the air around her, taking her mind off things. She liked how the warmth was able to push away the coldness inside her, the coldness that seemed to suck her into a tunnel of no-return. The coldness, that felt alot like helplessness. Yet, the moment the shower was off, the same coldness was back, attacking her harder than before, squeezing her into the tunnel and shut the door.

Alone, as always. That how she always feel. And she had absolutely no control over it. Helplessness, should be a sinful word.

When she was back to the room, she contemplated if she should sleep next to Rachel or just rest on a chair. But she was tired, and the whole emotion roller-coaster ride was draining whatever energy that she had left. Thus, as softly as possible, she lie next to Rachel and turned away from her.

There's something about Rachel's quiet snoring that seemed to push away the coldness. Yet, another feeling was consuming her stronger than that – Guilt. She hated feeling guilty and yet she always ended up in the position of feeling damn fucking guilty.

She turned around to face Rachel and felt an invisible hand squeezing her heart tighter until she thought it might stop beating altogether. The guilt manifested itself and her stomach twisted multiple times in a sadistic knot. She lifted her hand and caught a fallen tear before it rolled off Rachel's cheeks.

When did everything spiral so completely out of control?

"Did I always, hurt you so badly?" She whispered, guilt swirling inside her like a hurricane. She didn't need an answer for that because the evidence was smacked to her face. The paths of the fallen tears were evident on her face.

"Does it help if I were to apologise over and over again?" Her hand pushed the fallen hair away from Rachel's face lightly, careful not to wake up her. Rachel's eyes were puffy from all the crying and even so, Quinn felt like she was the most amazing thing ever.

She watched as Rachel's body rose subtly as she breathed, like a baby, oblivious to the chaos in the world. From afar, a car honk filled the silence. Quinn stalled until the silence was hovering them like a blanket again.

"Sam broke up with me…for Mercedes." Her voice was barely a whisper. "He said he didn't feel that he was important to me. You know what's the most ridiculous thing?" She smirked softly. "He was apologising over and over again. I wasn't angry at all… Hurt, maybe. But I was scared… so so fucking scared…"

Her eyes roamed around Rachel's face, trying to remember every single detail of this gorgeous girl infront of her.

"Why do people always leave me?" Her voice came out smaller and weaker than intended. She felt a burning sensation at the back of her eyelid and for the first time after so long, allowed the tears to fall off to her cheeks without protest. Maybe she had exhausted all her will-power. Maybe, for a moment, Quinn just wanna stop being strong.

"My Dad, the guy who I've used to admire. My Mother, the woman who used to cradle me when I was young. Beth, my baby girl..." Her voice wavered. "The captain status of the Cheerios...and now Sam." A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Why do people leave when I don't measure up to their standards? Why can't they love me for who I am? " Her breathe hitched and she felt her chest constricting.

"And now Rachel, you're gonna leave too." As the words tumbled out, Quinn felt the sadistic knot in her stomach twisted further. The nauseates at the pit of her stomach swirling.

"So Rachel, if you're gonna leave, don't start to care." Her breathing laboured as she said. "I may get used to it, I may feel like I need more of these. I will start to demand Rachel."

The silence fell over them like a blanket as she watched the face of the girl infront of her.

"I'm so sorry." Quinn whispered under her breath, her hand brushing against Rachel's cheeks.

As the night dreaded on, Quinn felt her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. She may have imagined it, or she may have not. But she was sure she heard somebody telling her that she would never leave her before she drifted off to sleep.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

All mistakes are mine.

I'm so sorry for the long wait! Please pardon any mistakes.

Reviews greatly appreciated. Counting down 3 more days!


	12. Chapter 12

**Day 6**

Rachel woke up with her head pounding painfully. Her eyes were heavy and she felt like she had hardly slept. She sighed inwardly. Her body ached and she could feel like her hair sticking all over the place. She opened her eyelid lightly but the damn light had to shine painfully at her sore eyes. She shut it back and groaned. She shifted her head towards her right (hopefully away from the light) and fluttered her eyes open. Rachel could feel the warmth radiating from Quinn and the scent of her in her nose. Her eyes grazed down to her hands and she gasped. Her limbs were all over Quinn and if the pressure on her head was any indication, she was fairly sure she's tucked under the burning embrace of Quinn Fabray.

The realization hit her and the tinkling sensations on her feet were the direct results of the butterflies emerging in her stomach. Her breathing had gotten noticeably faster, a direct contrast to Quinn's calm and peaceful breathing. She briefly wondered if Quinn would punch her when she realized Rachel was tucked (blissfully) under her. She threw that thought away. She had handled worst, didn't she?

She sighed again. She's such a sucker for Quinn that it wasn't even funny. She subtly pushed herself closer to Quinn and Quinn's heartbeat was pounding softly in her ears. She tried not to think about the soft flesh pressing against her cheek. Quinn smelled so good that she couldn't resist the urge to melt into her.

"Are you smelling my breast?" Quinn mumbled and Rachel almost jump out of her skin. She flinched herself away but was immediately pulled back by the strong arms. "It's Ok, I won't sue you." Rachel felt her cheeks warming up.

"Wha...What are you talking about?" She stammered and pushed herself half-heartedly away from Quinn. Quinn held her tight in her embrace.

"Sure, play the denial cards." She mumbled and if it's even possible, pulled Rachel even closer to her.

Rachel really should stop her heart from beating so fast. Surely it's not good for her health? Every moment with Quinn felt like a roller-coaster ride. Her relationship with Quinn was, without question, a health hazard. Every high gets higher and low get lower. She was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Rachel sighed at the inevitable. They would need to discuss this, eventually.

"Quinn...we need to talk about yesterday." She felt Quinn tensed in her embrace before letting go a resigned breath. "You know, after knowing you for 2 years, 5 months and 13 days, I kept wondering why are you so difficult to understand. Finn was easy, Kurt was straight forward, even Santana wasn't as confusing as you are. After our...argument yesterday, I kept thinking about this and it finally dawn upon me. How could I be so blind to what's happening?" Quinn swallowed the lump in her throat and closed her eyes. She could feel the wheels spinning in Rachel's head. She had no idea what was going on in Rachel's head but she had a feeling that she would not like it. Feelings were meant to be brushed aside and ignore, why was Rachel so adamant to bring things up?

"After a series of reflection, I have enough evidence pointing to the fact that you're 100%..." She shifted her head so that she was now looking into Quinn's panic hazel eyes. She smiled, trying to assure her.

"...Bi-polar. " Rachel held her breath, waiting for the expected reaction from Quinn - The denial game. It's okay, she had a list of evidence ready in her head to throw it to her. She had to face her problems, not run away. Rachel would let her know that she would be there to help her get better, to be stronger. She won't leave her, never.

Quinn's eyes widened before she turned her face into the pillow. Her body was trembling and Rachel instantly regretted bringing it up. Maybe Quinn wasn't ready to face her..._condition_. She rubbed soothing circles on her back and pouted. "It ok Quinn, I'll help you through it. I've already googled a couple of management techniques to handle your condition. We'll be okay, we'll-"

Then Quinn let loose a rib-shaking laugh. Her body was shaking uncontrollably. Tears were gathering in her eyes. Rachel frowned. Was this brought upon by her condition? Was she in the high state now since yesterday she was low? She gasped – that must be it! Rachel sat up from her position and looked to Quinn squarely in her eyes. "Quinn, you need to stop laughing. Practice these breathing techniques with me. It will calm you down. Hold your hands straight up ahead of you like this."With that, she lifted her arms to parallel to the ground and took 3 deep breaths. But Quinn was laughing so hard that the bed was shaking like earthquake.

"Quinn Fabray!" She yelled, trying to hold Quinn together. "You must conquer this! It's all in the mind. We'll do it together!" If anything, Quinn was laughing even harder. Rachel puffed out a sigh of frustration. This was harder than she had imagined.

"Rach...Rachel." Quinn managed to cough out finally. There! Finally. Rachel reached out to Quinn with concern. "It's okay, you can tell me everything." She held on to Quinn's hand and drew circles on it, hoping to calm the blonde down. Quinn's laughter faded slowly, dissolving into a beaming grin, just for her. Rachel ignored the flip in her stomach.

"Rachel..."Quinn said, with tears still in her eyes. "I'm...I'm..."Quinn started and stopped. Rachel quickened the circles drawing on Quinn's hand impatiently, to encourage her further. "I'm...not bi-polar." Rachel stopped and arched an eyebrow. Then she sighed. She knew it was not going to be that easy. "Quinn, it's okay. I won't judge you. In fact, I will even help you with this condition –" Rachel paused on her track when Quinn sat up in a swift motion and took Rachel's hands in hers. Hazel eyes were boring into hers and Rachel felt herself melting into those pair of gorgeous eyes again.

"Rachel, I'm not bi-polar."

Rachel blinked and then frowned. "But..but Quinn, think about it – the frequent highs followed closely with the lows. One moment you're ruthless, emotionless Quinn and the other, you're the Quinn who was in my arms just minutes ago. And..and, look at you! You're achingly beautiful and smart, and athletic and sings well. Nobody is that perfect..." She trailed off. Quinn has to be Bi-polar!

Quinn tilted her head to a side as the corner of her lips curved up slightly. "You think I'm perfect?" She said, amusement hanging in her words. Her cheeks pink from the compliment.

Rachel looked away and was suddenly nervous at the way Quinn was looking at her. The look in her eyes...that's something new. "Erm... yes?" She answered as a blush crept up her face. Quinn pulled Rachel into her arms and they melted into each other perfectly. They held on to each other while the entire world grind to a halt. Rachel could hear her heart hammering in her ears.

"Rachel, somebody who's perfect won't be doing those awful things to you. They won't be saying those awful things like what I've said yesterday..." She whispered in her ears, sounding broken. "How could you, of all people, thinks that I'm perfect?" Quinn dragged in a stuttering breath. "Rachel, why are you so dumb?"

Rachel sighed and grabbed on to Quinn like she was drowning.

She's dumb when it comes to Quinn, always.

"Rachel, sometimes I say stupid things because..." There was an emotional strain in her voice even as she tried to hush it. "I'm stupid. I say awful things that I didn't mean a thing because I'm so afraid..." Quinn's breathing has gotten heavier now with the effort of her confession and Rachel let Quinn held her, while her words sank into her heart, into her skin. For a fleeing second, Rachel felt like that they were trading souls. She could almost feel hers leaving her body.

"It's okay Quinn." Rachel whispered, her nose pressed against Quinn's neck, taking in her smell and pain. Goose bumps were raised all over Quinn's body.

She let go a breath and kissed Rachel's ears gently.

_Thank you._

Rachel nodded at the unspoken words, drowning with contentment to be held by Quinn.

But the moment was broken abruptly when the phone on the table rattled like a warning bell.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

BAM - And I'm back. Happy June!

My sincere apologies for the long wait and short chapter. I kinda thought of cutting short the days cause it really seems to be abit repetitive now.

I'm actually quite apprehensive to post this chapter since I've made you guys waited soooooooo long. My bad, really – I've been facing a long long period of writer's block.

Special thanks to those who continued to leave messages, reviews despite me being away. You guys are the reason why this chapter is uploaded.

I probably need to second/third proof read it. All mistakes (grammar/spelling/spacing) are mine.


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